A Diary Of Two Hearts
by Thorned Rose
Summary: As soon as their romance blossoms, negative effects arise. Jessie and James have to decide if what they have is worth all the traumatic events that occur from it in this Rocketshippy epic, as their lives may well depend on it. Some dark disturbing scenes.
1. September 1st, 2000

    A Diary Of Two Hearts By Thorned Rose 

   Legal Disclaimer

The only things I own here are: the plotline, occasional new characters and dreams of what _could _happen. I do, however, deny all rumours about me owning Ash and Misty. I don't want them and I definitely don't pretend to own them!

                                 Friday, September 1st 2000.

      Jessie, James and Meowth were waiting for the commotion in the lab to ease off a bit, anxious to deliver their prize as soon as possible. They were currently located in a darkened room two storeys above the lab in question with an unconscious Pikachu lying on the table. Although the adrenaline count was well above normal, they were all feeling a little jumpy since they were unsure what time the drug would wear off.

      James was leaning against a long, metal counter; its edge almost as sharp as the equipment on it was, but not quite. He watched his partners discuss their best possible escape route, whilst at the same time contemplating whether or not he should go through with his plan or not. Maybe, just maybe she'll hear me out. But what if she laughs at me? I've nothing worth offering her, unless you count a free portable punch-bag if she accepts. I don't know He realised he must have been staring at her because she snapped her fingers in front of his eyes and asked him what was wrong. It was at this moment in time that James realised exactly how dry a person's throat could become. He swallowed to try and disperse the knot that was forming in his stomach out of nerves. Attempting to ignore the fact that Meowth was there, he faced Jessie and decided to go for it.

     He began to take a small, gift-wrapped box out of his trouser pocket and express his non-platonic feelings for his best friend, but unfortunately Jessie failed to catch anything after: "Jess, you know how we've known each other…"due to the fact that after those few words light flooded the room and sirens blared throughout the building, indicating that they'd been discovered. Meowth cursed loudly, but words failed to describe how pissed off the human members looked. Just as James was about to suggest an escape route, Jessie grabbed a large glass jar which was behind him, the proceeded to scream at him "We're just about arrested and all you can think about is THAT?! What kind of moron are you?!" 

      The words pierced his soul, not only because of the unnaturally loud pitch, but it was mainly due to what actually left her mouth. His lack of a response seemed only to agitate her further, and in an instant she managed to cause the jar to collide with his left temple. Since the attack was unexpected, he didn't have sufficient time to protect himself against it, the impact also left him feeling overly dizzy and nauseous. Meowth called out:

      "Quit playing around you guys, we have to make our escape"

      They mumbled something in response, both feeling awkward when he said the 'playing around' part and Jessie accidentally bumped into him as she started to escape with Meowth. Unfortunately since James felt so off-balance from the jar he fell backwards and suddenly felt pain sear through his upper back as his skin was slit on the razor-sharp edge. The last thing he could remember before he fell unconscious was being aware of the high-pitched ringing in his ears along with the sight of his partners fleeing the scene, ordering him to bring the 'yellow rodent' without looking to see if he was still beside them. 

      The 'yellow rodent' in question was actually the first of them to come to its senses, and when it did it quickly became alert as it failed to spot anything familiar in the surrounding area. It spent approximately ten minutes gnawing through the ropes and released a squeal of delight when it achieved its goal. It leapt off the table and as it began to sprint out of the 'prison', it felt some sort of foreign substance sticking to its paws. It paused, clearly perplexed, and it sniffed at its arms curiously. It was more than a little taken- aback when the realisation hit it of what it had run through; blood. As it shook away the initial shock, it realised that the blood was fresh, worse still was that the scent smelt vaguely familiar. As it continued to ponder over whose scent it was that it could be detecting, it decided that whatever it was that was injured was probably in the vicinity of where it stood now. It was still unable to see little more than two feet around it, due to both the drug and also because the room was engulfed in an unforgiving depth of black, leaving an atmosphere almost as cold as the tiles it stood on. In an attempt to see what it was that was injured, Pikachu thunder-shocked the entire room. Although it had taken a fair bit out of it due to its weakened form, it had spotted an odd-shaped form roughly five feet to its right. 

      Pikachu was now scared; the form hadn't moved and was surrounded by the blood, which should have helped conduct the electricity. It bounded over to the body and finally figured out who the person was-James. Tears hindered the pitiful vision it already possessed, out of shock and sadness, mixed with relief as it could hear faint breathing coming from the direction of his fallen enemy. It decided to give its electricity bolts another chance and cried out ecstatically when it heard a faint grunt. It didn't really see James sit up; it was more like it sensed it, which perplexed it further as it usually only shared this bond with Ash.

      Blood was the first thing that James could taste, the first thing he could smell, the first thing he could feel on his skin and he was pretty much certain that he was lacking a large amount of it. He felt dizzy and then swore violently when he remembered why he was there in the first place. He became very alert as he realised that he was not alone. He remained rigid on the ground, terrified of being arrested on the grounds of breaking and entering on top of his vast criminal record. He exhaled with relief as he heard a soft "Pika Pi", mingling with the dull buzz drowning out most of the other sounds. With some great difficulty he stretched across and scratched the top of Pikachu's head in an act of trust, and also as a symbol of friendship.

      The pain gradually subsided to the extent that he could hear what was going on in the lab, but his actions were still hindered due to the excessive blood loss he had experienced earlier. He took his gloves and jacket off, then he proceeded to wipe away some of the blood that was on his face, resulting with him crying out in pain a couple of times. Luckily for them, the noises remained unnoticed by anyone else. He felt not only depressed for lacking the option of a two-way conversation, but also because he realised that he would have to remain in the dark room until the scientists had cleared out completely.

      What appeared to be aeons later, there was silence throughout the stone building. James shakily stood up and received a pounding headache as he did so; it was far worse than any hangover he had ever suffered from. He felt a little disgusted with himself when he found thoughts of Jessie and Meowth's safety entering his head. He had to grab onto the side of the counter to stop him from collapsing again, then swore silently to himself when he felt a slight cut on his palm. He heard another worried squeak from the rodent, so he gently whispered: "It's okay, I'm alright. Now let's get out of this place"

      Roughly thirty-five minutes later, the duo landed safely on the opposite side of a ten-foot high metal fence, which ran all around the lab. James' vision was becoming more accustomed to the rapidly fading light and he was finally able to move without wanting to throw up and/or pass out again. He grabbed his backpack out of the bushes and shoved his gloves, jacket and everything out of his pockets into it, including the present he had bought for Jessie. He looked up at the sky and decided that it must be roughly half seven in the evening, though he wasn't entirely certain. He wanted to do some private reflecting about the way he had been treated earlier, so he decided to return Pikachu. He may lead a life of crime, but he knew that it would only be the decent thing to do since he knew Pikachu had woken him up, even though it hadn't actually been expressed in words. They trekked through the wooded area until it was difficult to see little more than a ten feet in any given direction. They had just about decided to set up a camp for the night when Pikachu pricked its ears forward, having detected a crackle of dried wood not too far off in the distance. They picked up speed in the direction in question, then a major feeling of relief swept over them as they heard the familiar sound of Brock attempting to stop a blazing row, which was going on between Ash and Misty. 

      "Will you stop snapping at us?! We know you're upset about losing Pikachu, but there's nothing we can do about it at this time at night. I suggest you try and get some sleep so you'll be fit to help it tomorrow-what's the point of collapsing after two miles?" 

      "Shut up Misty, you know how worried I am. Imagine how you'd feel if it was your stupid egg. If only Team Useless were here, I'd wipe that stupid smirk off their faces. Especially that cross-dressing, idiotic fairy…"

      Unfortunately for Ash, he said the last part just as James walked into the clearing with Pikachu. Glaring at him, he icily said "Care to call me that to my face? Or aren't you tall enough to do that?"

      Ash suddenly became more obnoxious than usual and said, without turning around "Why would I want to see a Muk when I've already caught one?"

     "Do you have any idea how long we've been looking for you, and this is the reception you give me? I'll tell you, shall I? For the last two or three hours in this light no less, not to mention the extra hardships we faced doing so"

      "Who's this 'we' you keep talking about? Either we've got an alter-egotistical freak on our hands, or your ditzy partner has finally learned how to keep her oversized cake-hole shut"

      "Or maybe I went through all this trouble just to bring you back your excess baggage"

      Ash turned around for the first time with extremely widened eyes and saw Pikachu looking up at him from the ground with a shocked facial expression. He stammered out some pitiful form of apology, and then dropped to his knees to hug his beloved rat. James waited for a little while for some form of gratitude, but when it never came, he silently turned to walk away. Although he hadn't expected much from Ash since it was his fault anyway that they'd been separated in the first place, he sure as hell did not expect the sharp punch to the back of his neck. He spun around, rubbing his neck gently to relieve him of the stinging sensation, and then demanded to know what the hell he thought he was playing at. Ash's expression was grim: he not only gritted his teeth, but the fiery glare in his eyes mixed with his clenched fist made him look completely different, as if it were some sort of distorted image they were looking at. In fact, the contempt visible on the young boy's face surprised even James, not that he showed it. 

      "I demand to know exactly what you did to my Pikachu, or else I'll make you tell me"

      "I have no idea what you're talking about. The only thing we did was put a mild drug into its system, which is known to have virtually no side effects. The only thing the potion would have done is make your pet more alert than usual, and that will have already worn off at this stage"

      "LIAR!!!" 

       With a sudden outburst of rage, he punched his nemesis full-force in his abdomen, causing him to drop to his knees and wrap his arms around himself. He had been completely winded, as the attack was unexpected, but it wasn't so much the sharp lack of air that was bothering him, or even the small amount of blood he was coughing out. Humiliation swept over him as he realised that his supposedly best friend and an eleven-year-old boy had hurt him within hours of each other. This emotion was quickly replaced with a burning sense of anger, and when he had regained his breath he stood up saying

      "What is your problem? Is that how you were brought up to thank someone for doing you a favour?"

      "I wasn't brought up to thank someone who hurt something I care deeply for, but maybe that wasn't the quote 'proper way to thank someone' Especially if that causes the 'pet' to bleed"

       James had just about had enough of the rubbish that Ash was screaming at him so he decided to convince him to shut up. He took one look at Pikachu, then grabbed him by the lapels of his jacket and shoved him into the nearest tree. The campfire illuminated his face completely for the first time, which not only highlighted the dried blood on the side of his face, but also made him appear more menacing. Then through gritted teeth he hissed:

      "For the last time I DID NOT HURT YOUR PIKACHU. All we did was drug it, which it has now recovered from, and then search in the wilderness just to return it. If I were you, which luckily I'm not, I'd get my eyes tested because, should you bother to look at Pikachu closely, you'd discover no cut on it, then your brain cell might be able to deduce that the blood is mine"

      Ash blanched when he saw the blood surrounding the hairline on his left temple. They also heard a barely audible gasp from Brock and Misty, who had wisely decided to remain silent throughout the argument. James came to the decision that it was time he left, so after pushing Ash against the moss-covered tree one last time he glared into his terror-stricken eyes and spat out

      "If I ever hear you talking about me or any other member of Team Rocket like that again, you'll go through far worse than whatever's happened to you before. Count yourself lucky that I was the only one who heard you, because let's just say that if Jessie was here, you'd be Ash by nature as well as by name. Do I make myself clear?"

      "Crystal"

      As he had received a satisfactory answer, he dropped Ash, and then shot a glare at Brock and Misty, which gave the distinct impression that, it meant 'that goes for you too'. With that, he picked up his backpack and walked away from the clearing. He could still hear their conversation after a couple of minutes, which consisted of:

      "Can you believe he did that? Maybe he's not such a bad guy after all"

      "Not so bad? He could have killed me over there and you did nothing to stop him. Some friends you are!!!"

      "That's just because you provoked him. He did you a favour and you cause him to cough up blood!"

      "Speaking of blood, how do you suppose he got to look like that?"

      "And where were Jessie and Meowth? She is soooooo hot!"

      "BROCK!"

      "What?! She is!"

      "Now is not the time to go all dopey over a girl who isn't even here!"

      "Correction, Misty, woman"

      "Grow up Romeo, she…"

      At the mention of Jessie's name, James tried his hardest to blank out their petty conversation and also attempted to blink back the burning tears that were rapidly forming in his eyes. He was extremely tired and had nowhere to sleep as all of the vital supplies were in the stupid balloon. All he had with him in his backpack was a change of clothes, a very small supply of food and a towel. The latter had been used that morning after Meowth had fallen into some icy water and needed drying before he caught a chill. Not only was he lacking essential items, but also he was alone, felt sticky where the blood was still mildly wet, then to top it all, he was in far greater pain than any other time that he could recall. He couldn't believe his luck when he heard the sound of running water, so he headed off in the direction he thought it was in.

      He was overjoyed to see that what met his tired eyes was a wide river, possibly a mile wide, with some rocks jutting out in the middle of the slow-pacing water. There were also a couple of caves along a really steep part of the bank, which seemed to extend back into the earth for quite a bit, but right at that moment, the only thing that interested him was the running water. It may not have been an en-suite deluxe hotel room, but he was satisfied with it. 

      He peeled off his dirty uniform, and then proceeded to jump into the water in his boxer shorts. It was hotter than he could have possibly imagined, as it still maintained all the warmth it had gathered throughout the day, and yet the temperature was sufficiently cool to remove the layered blood and sweat that had been building up on his body since roughly ten o' clock that morning. The tears that had been threatening him since he woke up finally escaped his eyes since he knew that if anyone caught him, he could blame it on the river. He inhaled deeply and dove to the bed of the river, then began to rub at the blood in his hair and around his temple regardless of the pain he suffered as he continued.

      When he failed to feel any more alien substances around his head, he surfaced and gasped hungrily for air. He grabbed what used to pass off as 'clothes' and scrubbed at them until the unnatural stiffness disappeared from them. He had forgotten completely about his jacket until he went for some fresh clothes, but by then he just felt too tired to do anything about it. He had just pulled on a pair of jeans when he heard a familiar male voice say

      "Ignore Ash. We all know how thick skulled he can be at times. I couldn't help notice how badly injured you were earlier, not to mention that you were alone, so I thought you might like to stay at our campsite tonight"

      "That's very kind of you, but why are you being so nice to me? I could wait until you fall asleep, and then steal your pokémon"

      "Yes, you could, but if you were really interested in stealing them, I doubt you'd return them a couple of hours later, would you? Ash can be a real jerk sometimes, but he only attacked you today because Pikachu is a touchy subject with him. Speaking of touchy subjects, I saw you flinch every time Jessie was mentioned. See, you just did it again. Care to talk about it?"

      James felt relieved to be able to talk to someone about it, yet at the same time he was feeling a bit awkward when he thought about whom he would be telling. He swallowed whatever shred of pride he still had and told him the complete story whilst he finished getting dressed. He was pleased with himself when he discovered that he could say all of that without crying again, but he had had to interrupt the story a couple of times with some minor obscenities when he had moved his shoulders and/or head uncomfortably as he put his t-shirt on. 

      He gathered up his belongings and followed Brock back to the same area he had been in earlier, having been given the option to get his injuries looked after. Luckily for them, Ash seemed to have gone somewhere for a few minutes, for some more firewood, according to Misty. James took his t-shirt off for Brock to clean up the cut on his back first; his cheeks quickly started burning when he saw Misty staring at him from the corner of her eye. Just what I need, camping with a pre-adolescent who has a crush on me. I suppose it's still better than sleeping on my own without anything. And it does make a change from being the one going asleep with unspoken feelings with someone five feet away from me He put his t-shirt back on as soon as possible, feeling a bit better as he had received some decent medical attention for once.

      He was talking to Misty as Brock began to make their evening meal, when a familiar "Pi-Pikachu!" rang out through the forest. He glanced up just in time to see a small yellow creature jump into his chest with a friendly force. He petted it until he saw Ash and said

      "Want it back, so you can make sure that 'the idiotic, cross-dressing, fairy member of Team Useless' doesn't try to steal it?"

      "I'm sorry about that, I was just worked up about not knowing how or where Pikachu was earlier. So how are Jessie and Meowth?"

      An awkward silence lingered in the air for a few minutes, then James finally said:

      "They're fine. They're both just on a different mission than I am right now"

      Everyone there knew that it was a downright lie, but nobody said anything that would suggest anything otherwise by it. They all turned in for sleep at roughly twenty past nine, but James found it impossible to get to sleep, even with the spare blanket and pillow that Misty had given him. He got up after a non-eventful bout of insomnia, then decided to go for a quick walk to loosen up his stiff joints. Whatever he was expecting to see, it wasn't the image that met his eyes.

      Still in her uniform, Jessie was talking to Meowth with her back to him, and from the way her back was trembling erratically; he figured that she must have been crying. She had often let her guard down in front of him, but it was usually only when it was something she found really upsetting that she cried in front of Meowth. Could it possibly be that she regretted her actions?

      He watched them from the concealing bushes at a safe distance, trying to grasp any information from their conversation that he could, which was difficult enough since Meowth found it hard to comprehend some things that she was saying, and he was sitting right beside her. She eventually decided to get ready for bed, as far as he could gather, as Meowth slinked off into the woods to do some nighttime hunting and she stood up and had a quick scan of the area; her usual ritual which indicated that she was just about to prepare to go to sleep. He watched her movements for a few minutes, one could say that he was enchanted by her stunning good looks, and then looked at the ground out of respect when it came to her taking off her uniform. He waited for roughly five minutes until he risked looking up, and by that stage, she was in her underwear, well tucked into her sleeping bag. Suddenly an idea hit him, so he stealthily returned to 'his' campsite. 

      Jessie sat up with a start after experiencing a troublesome sleep. She was drenched in a cold sweat and rubbed her eyes to try and rid herself of the horrendous images that had invaded her dreams. Flashbacks of how he tried to ask her out mingled with warped versions of what happened. The worst one she could remember was it being their wedding day. He was being asked to say, but all he could do was point and laugh at her saying:

      "Her?! So she can try to kill me in bed? No thanks-give me Jessibelle any day!"

      The last words rang continuously through her head and she had to bite her lip to stop herself from bursting into tears again. She glanced to her side and saw that Meowth still hadn't returned, and felt like she was being abandoned. Sighing, she turned around to get up, but stopped when she saw a box beside her. Underneath the box was a note, so she reached for that first instead, and to her delight discovered that James had written it after she had unfolded it.

      Dear Jess,

I think we got off to the wrong start earlier, don't you? Although I'll admit I took that rejection more 'painfully' than I did any other, it doesn't stop me feeling and thinking the way I do about you. About us. This is very hard for me to write this, although I know that you'll be the only one to read this, it still feels so impersonal to me. What I'm trying to say is, will you at least think about what you could have, and what you could lose. I'll completely understand if you don't feel the same way-I just needed to tell you and get this out of my system. In case Meowth is around next time I see you, either put the necklace on if you think we have a chance together, otherwise I'm really sorry for bringing this up and I swear I won't mention it again. Always,

      James X

      She carefully refolded the message in shock, then she slowly opened the box. Inside was a light silver locket, which, when opened, revealed a picture of them with Meowth on their first successful mission. She laughed when she remembered that day; tears of ecstasy were now flowing freely down her face. Without any hesitation, she undid the latch on the chain and put her arms around her neck to close it again. What she didn't expect, however, was to find an extra pair of hands already there closing it for her. Before she could say anything, James had crawled around and sat facing her. He just looked at her for a minute, then said

      "Does this mean what I think it means?"

      She nodded mutely and after both of them feeling uncertain and a little nervous, they leaned forward and shared their first kiss. Nerves soon dissolved as they equally became more involved in the process; it just felt so natural that Jessie was left wondering why she had turned him away in the first place.

      They gradually broke from their kiss, both sensing the need to talk about what they were doing, yet at the same time feeling reluctant to pull their lips away from their partners'. James was the first to speak, finding it difficult to talk whilst he sat, lost in the depths of her sapphire-blue eyes.

      "That was well worth the eight years' wait for me anyway, how did you find it?"

      She remained silent, then started crying again. All emotions she had taught herself to forget about were now surfacing all at once, and it was becoming too much for her to cope with

      "Jess, what's wrong? Was it that terrible for you? I know you aren't a guy or anything but **_I _**still enjoyed it!" He joked, and got what he wanted from her: a laugh. He put his arms around her to comfort her and kissed her hair whilst she continued crying into his shoulder. When she finally had a good grip on her hormones, she said:

      "I'm sorry, it was great, but that's just it. We went from best friends to a couple in .5 seconds. That was the best moment of my life so far, but I still don't understand what you could possibly see in a cold-hearted ice-bitch like me"

      "I don't see you like that at all, what I see is the only person whom I've known for almost a decade who actually believes in me. I know that your ice-bitch routine is just a façade used for people who don't know what the real you is like"

      "I guess so. Has someone been giving you a hard time about your sexuality again? Or, correction, what everyone assumes your sexuality is and not what it actually is"

      James just sighed, then told her about the argument he had been in earlier. He finished with:

      "I guess I'm just not mean enough. I mean, the rat was in our grasp and what do I do? Feel sorry for the poor thing and return it! If it was any other pokémon, I don't think I'd have bothered but I don't think it would be right if either of us caught and cashed in Pikachu without the other, do you?"

      "I know what you mean. I thought it was weird enough, us being apart earlier, even if it was just for a couple of hours. I guess it's because we've been by each other every day for the last few years. I don't quite know how to say it, but I felt somehow awkward earlier, like I was incomplete. Guilt played a major part in it anyway"

      "There's no sense in beating yourself over what happened earlier, it's in the past. Okay, maybe I should have phrased that better, but the point is that I survived and still came back to you. If I resented you for doing it, why would I bother returning to see you again?"

      "I guess you're right, but I still feel awful about hurting you in the first place. You have no idea how I felt when we were outside and realised that you weren't. All I could think about was that you'd think we'd abandoned you. I wanted to go back in to see if you were all right, but Meowth said that we should wait until dark, but we never saw anything when we went back in. I began to feel that I wouldn't be able to see you again until we would have to collect our salaries next month. When I was talking to Meowth before he went to find a midnight snack a terrible possibility struck me; what if you didn't make it out safely and I never saw you again. It was such a threat to me that I actually cried in front of Meowth, can you believe it?"

      James stopped himself from saying 'I know, I saw you' just in time, so instead settled for: 

      "Wow, I didn't think it would have ever come to that. Speaking of that scratch-cat, what do you intend telling him about us? I think it would only be the decent thing to do if I stayed at the brats' camp tonight, to repay them for the food and medical treatment they gave me earlier, so my suggestion would be to tell him together tomorrow. What's with me lately, I'm being so mannerly lately that soon you won't be able to recognise me anymore "

      "Trust me, I'll always be able to recognise you. I can't understand why you joined Team Rocket in the first place; you're far too considerate for that cold-blooded, corrupt organisation"

      "I would only consider leaving if you did too, we're in everything together, remember? We always agreed to accept both good with bad, and also it isn't the worst job that I've ever had. In fact, at times I think Giovanni is a little bit too lenient with us, considering the amount of times we've failed to complete this one basic assignment"

      "But think of all of our other successful assignments. He must obviously take them into consideration, or else he'd have brought it to our attention ages ago. There's no way he'd bother with us unless we hold some potential, he's too much of a miser to do something like that. Can we please stop talking about him anyway? Otherwise I'll end up having more nightmares!"

      "You know I'd do anything for you. Besides, let's see if this will make your night good and worry-free"

      As he finished saying that, he leaned towards her and kissed her again, this time neither of them hindered their pleasure or technique with nerves. James was first to pull away after a few minutes, saying:

      "It's getting late, and as much as I want to stay here with you, I think it would be for the best if I returned to the twerps' camp. Oh the joys of knowing that the twerpette has a crush on me!"

      She sat up properly in her sleeping bag, clearly shocked, and said:

      "You're not serious! How do you know?"

      He told her how she had been looking at him when he'd had his t-shirt off earlier, then playfully asked if she was jealous. When he saw her familiar self-possessed smirk, he brushed his lips against hers one last time and said 

      "Goodnight Jess"

      "'Night James"

      And with that, he stood up and walked away from her and back to the others' campsite to get some rest. As he stripped down to his underwear before getting under his blanket he felt two aquamarine eyes watching him and heard slight whispering, but strangely enough, he could honestly say that he didn't care. Visions of what had occurred over the last few hours were recreated inside his head; along with the exact words of each of their most recent conversations as he closed his weary eyes. The final thoughts that ran through both his and Jessie's heads simultaneously were:

      "Well, that worked out better than I imagined"

      They both quickly surrendered to slumber with faint smiles on their faces, trying to anticipate what events would take place the next day.


	2. September 2nd, 2000

                                Saturday, 2nd September 2000

      Misty opened her eyes slowly, trying to think what could possibly have woken her up, although she'd admit that the last thing she expected to see the object of her affection handing her a freshly cooked breakfast. There were only two things wrong with this picture though, according to her:

1. They weren't the only ones there, and

2. He was completely dressed again. 

She rubbed her eyes again to wake herself up a bit more, and then gratefully accepted her meal from him. They exchanged a couple of pleasantries before waking the two other youths up. As per usual, Ash shovelled the food into his mouth without any consideration to thank whoever made his meals, but James was still overjoyed when he thought about what he had finally accomplished during the previous evening that Ash's lack of manners failed to irritate him. He ate his breakfast deep in thought, and was only jolted out of his fantasy when he heard Brock ask him why he'd bothered to cook for them. He shrugged and said:

      "I was awake early and bored. Besides, not only do I love cooking, but I also thought I should do something to pay you back for your hospitality yesterday. Well, two-thirds of you anyway"

      As Brock and Ash went down to the river to clean the crockery and to refill their water-skins after consuming their breakfast, James folded up the blanket that Misty had lent him, and handed it to her along with the pillow. She asked him how he'd slept, so he answered her with intent of embarrassing her.

      "I slept alright after a while, but I'm sorry for waking you up in the middle of the night"

      "What makes you think you woke me up?"

      "Well, I went out for a walk last night, and you were awake when I was getting changed, weren't you?"

      She reddened and said:

      "I'll admit I was awake, but I've just one question. How exactly did you know that? You didn't look at me"

      "You forget that I'm a professional thief. I've been trained to sense rather than know when someone or something is watching me"

      "Sorry if you thought I was invading your privacy. As you've probably figured out, I like you, a lot"

      "Don't worry about it, I've been through things a whole lot more embarrassing than that. Besides, it's sort of flattering. Improbable maybe, but it's still flattering all the same. Don't worry, I promise I won't tell either of your friends"

      "Thanks, I'd really appreciate it if you didn't"

      "Oh, and Misty? One last thing"

      "Yeah?"

      "You're usually more inconspicuous if you don't keep whispering 'Go on, just one more item. Please!!!' when the other person isn't meant to be aware of your presence!"

      Misty felt absolutely mortified as she realised that he'd heard her the night before, especially when she thought that she'd only been thinking the last part to herself. They quickly dropped the subject when they saw the other youngsters arriving back to the campsite. Brock asked James why Misty was blushing, but he kept his promise and failed to explain why she was like that. After they had gathered their belongings from the glade, James announced that he would be leaving them to look for his partners in crime before they could have the chance to report back to headquarters without him. Brock noticed that he failed to flinch this time and made a mental note to ask him about it when he had finished giving Ash a satisfactory description of what they'd done to Pikachu.

      "After you'd fallen into yet another hole we'd dug in the ground, we sprinted into a high-tech lab which, by the way, had maximum security reinforcing it. After we'd considered ourselves undetected, we stole a virtually harmless drug called 'bicarbonate of cobalt', which is known to sedate the creature in question, then sharpen its senses after it had revived itself. If you ask me, I'd say that's pretty tame. Or at least I think so, since I've seen other pokémon suffer far greater than any of the times we've attacked your Pikachu"

      "Like what, for instance?"

      "Trust me Misty, I wish I'd never seen any of those experiments and if I had the chance, I wouldn't join Team 'Useless' if I was fifteen again. It's not as easy or luxurious as it may appear"

      He shot a glare towards Ash's direction as he said the 'Useless' part, showing that he still felt angry about when he'd overheard him call it that. Brock pulled James to the side for a minute and asked him directly whether or not he'd seen Jessie since the previous evening. James raised his eyebrows sceptically, then cryptically whispered

      "If I've seen her since she attacked me, then I'm a virgin"

      "Are you?"

      "Am I what?"

      "A virgin"

      "A true gentleman never brags about his achievements, but then again a true man would never admit his failures. You know I'm not 100% of either, so I'll let you figure it out by yourself. And, before you ask me, I'm not revealing the correct answer just yet, I'll let you see if I'm more like other members of team Rocket, or if I grew up like my father intended"

      "Hey, that's not fair!"

      "Why not? There are a few things I like to keep to myself, such as the real reason why I flunked out of school, and the level of intimacy I've reached is one of those things. Now if you'll excuse me, I'd better start heading towards Team Rocket Headquarters, before anyone with authority realises that I'm missing"

      He turned away from them before he revealed more than he intended and bid the small cluster of pre-adolescents farewell, then headed off in the completely opposite direction of his comrades' makeshift campsite, just in case Brock induced the others to follow him and see where his destination was. Once he'd walked roughly two miles and felt absolutely certain that he was truly alone, he doubled back in the direction where his new (and preferably his last) girlfriend should be awaiting his influx. After walking approximately one third of his journey, he smirked to himself when he glimpsed three sets of footprints disturbing the freshly fallen leaves on the trail. 

      A sense of excitement suddenly sparked within his heart as his eyes came into contact with the sight of his treasure lying on her side, and the only flaw he could possibly detect was that she was still imprisoned in a light slumber. He glanced to beside the smouldering twigs to her right and sure enough, Meowth lay there with a half-smile displayed across his face. James stealthily walked over to where Jessie rested and after lying behind her, he gently placed his right arm around her stomach. He required all the willpower he possessed not to turn her around and kiss her, but with some difficulty he succeeded in not waking her. He actually drifted off to sleep himself a couple of minutes later, having lacked a sufficient amount of it the night before to regenerate his energy levels. It had only seemed as though he'd just closed his eyes when he was awakened abruptly by a loud screeching.

      "MEE-OWTH, WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON OVER THERE?!"

      As he sat up, he become conscious of why Meowth had reacted like that; Jessie had turned around in her sleep, thus causing the material, which had been concealing her wearing only her underwear and a brand new locket, to slide down to her waist. To make the situation appear even less platonic, his arm had still been around her and she had decided to imitate the action. He usually slept beside her anyway, but this was far more incriminating than any other situation they'd ever been discovered, which could be deemed 'inappropriate', including the time they were found trespassing on private grounds, doing some midnight swimming. Luckily for them, they were the only two who knew about a certain card game, which had been played after they'd both consumed an excessive amount of alcohol.

      James found himself completely thunderstruck when he failed to come up with a plausible reason as to why they were like that, considering that most of his career was based on lies and deceit. Jessie, on the hand, wasn't bothered with excuses and, after covering herself up a bit; she gently pulled his head down and brushed her lips against his. After Meowth shook himself out of his daze, he turned to James and asked him what was for breakfast. He snapped out of his shock from his unexpected kiss and told them that he'd make them whatever they wanted. Jessie grabbed a set of clean clothes and changed as James began to prepare their breakfast, then headed off to the river to freshen up a bit. Meowth seized this golden opportunity to find out what was really going on and quietly started talking to James.

      "Welcome back Jimmy, how's your head?" 

      "Really painful. At least they didn't find me when I was out cold"

      "We felt so guilty when we saw you weren't there. You can understand why we didn't return straight away"

      "Don't worry, I completely understand. I would probably have done the same"

      "With your sensitive streak? I seriously doubt it"

      "All the same, I don't hold it against you. The point is, you came back at some stage, even if I wasn't there when you did. It's definitely not your fault though, whatever way you look at it, and you know that"

      "Speaking of Jess, what's up between you guys?"

      "Define 'what's up'"

      "Are you guys going out or what? After this morning, I don't think you should insult my intelligence with this 'just friends' crap"

      "I tried to ask her out yesterday, as you could probably figure out for yourself, then she took her anger out on me and put me out cold. I tried my luck again after you'd gone hunting and she said yes. As for this morning however, we didn't fall asleep like that. She'll becoming back in a few minutes, so we'll talk about this later if you want"

      "Whatever. What did you do with the yellow flea-bag anyway?"

      "Trust me, you don't want to know"

      "Let me guess, you went all soft and freed it"

      "Worse"

      "Please, please don't tell me you returned it"

      "Okay, I won't tell you"

      "We spent so long trying to catch it, and when we do, you give it back"

      "I couldn't cash it in alone, but the real reason for doing it is because Pikachu shocked me and waited until I was alright. I just couldn't steal it after that. I was punished for my good deed anyway"

      "What happened? Were you spotted?"

      "No. When I returned the rodent, the twerp attacked and insulted me. The worst part, however, was having to spend the night with them. After I came back from asking Jess out, I stripped to my underwear as I always do, but it was most unnerving when I could hear the coppertop whispering for me to take off my boxer shorts as well. I got my own back this morning by really embarrassing her about it!"

      "I wish I could've seen her face! I really pity you for having to spend so long with them. Anything interesting happen there?"

      "I found out that Ash is way more arrogant than I thought, and that Brock has a crush on Jessie. But then again, he fancies virtually all females, and Jessie's outfit doesn't help the situation"

      "He's not the only one though, is he Casanova?"

      "I'd like to think that what I hold for Jessie is something more than a mere crush. I've been in love with her ever since we met. Everything about her infatuates me, even her flaws and scars. How deeply she cares for me, however, has yet to be revealed. I don't want to push it out of her; it would be too fast a pace for both of us. Like I said, since she'll probably be coming back in a few minutes, I'll tell you more about us when we'll have more time to talk. And also when I know completely where I stand with her"

      Jessie returned roughly three minutes later, looking absolutely stunning to James, so they ate their breakfast when they were all ready. Nothing unusual happened, except when Meowth caught the humans locking eyes on a few occasions. They usually looked at each other during breakfast normally, but this time a change was clearly visible, even if it was difficult to place a finger (or paw) on it. 

      They unanimously decided that they'd take a much-needed day off from work; James obviously still required time to recover from the injuries he had received during the previous afternoon. The three outlaws spent the day relaxing and collecting some fruit and berries for a bit of variety in their daily diet. Luckily for the teenagers, Meowth kept losing them in the bushes to give them some time alone to talk and kiss every once in a while. Whether he did this deliberately or not, however, only he could tell. 

      They were just about to head back to their camp when they heard the all-too familiar sounds of childish squabbling going on between Ash and Misty. James pulled away from Jessie and a broad grin spread across his face. He motioned for her to come closer and he whispered his plan to her. She stifled her laughter and agreed to go along with it. As the pre-adolescents in question approached, they worked out exactly what their dialogue should be, instead of their usual impulsive thinking. 

      "I can't believe that we're lost again, ASH KETCHUM!"

      "It's not my fault if all the trees look identical, now is it?"

      "No, but it IS your fault when you take us the same wrong route FOUR TIMES in the SAME DAY!"

      "I'd like to see you do better. I hate to disappoint you Misty, but you do not have a divine link which tells you the right way each time"

      "I'll readily admit that Ash, but I obviously have something which you don't: Common Sense"

      "What's that supposed to mean?"

      "Sorry? You'll have to speak up because, unlike you, I am not fluent in foolish"

      "Did anyone else hear that?"

      "Hear what, Brock?"

      "I could have sworn I just heard voices a little bit further down the road…"

      They stopped and stayed quiet for a few moments and they heard what sounded like a more serious argument going on. Moments later they saw Jessie push James out of the bushes and onto the path, with anger flashing through both pairs of eyes. 

      "How stupid can you be? Would the fact that we abandoned you not give you the impression that I don't want to go out with you?"

      "You weren't saying that a couple of months ago, were you?"

      "Actually I was. It's not like I had that much of a choice when you approached me when you were _that _drunk, now was it?"

      "You're always saying how much stronger than me you are, yet you can't even toss a drunk guy off you. Or is that 'wouldn't'? Besides, it's not like I've never heard anyone else say 'just take off one more item. Please!' either is it? I don't need you for sex, got it?"

      "No, but it's not like that many _women _are interested in you either. You know as well as I do that if Giovanni knew what I do, then you'd be long gone"

      "Back at you. He would never have taken you on in the first place if he knew about how you got us kicked out of school. I could have had a future if I didn't know you, as opposed to starving every other week and crawling to someone each time I want a decent meal"

      "You think I enjoy it? I get to go around dressed as a slut with a cat and a girl who both whinge if we have to walk a little further than expected"

      "You are what you look like"

      "Then it's true, I slept with a fairy"

      "Butch is gay?"

      "You know exactly what I meant"

      Jessie glanced up and 'realised' that their foes had heard every word of their argument. She shot a glare towards Misty and asked her why she was looking at James like that. She tried to stammer out a reason why she was doing that, but James got in before her and said to Jessie:

     "Remember now, I don't need you to beg me to strip for you either"

      Misty could have sworn that her cheeks had been replaced with burning furnaces and that the whole world had gone silent, just for her to be stared at. After suffering from Jessie's cold expression, for a couple of awkward seconds, not to mention her companions' perplexed faces, she pointed angrily to James and growled:

      "You promised you wouldn't say anything!"

      "Did I tell your friends? No. I merely told my partner in the heat of an argument, not to mention the fact that I thought we were alone, which is still keeping my oath, don't you think?"

      "You still shouldn't have said anything in the first place! After the way we took care of you yesterday, this is how you repay me?"

      "Need I remind you of how I was repaid yesterday? I was insulted and punched by IT over there. Did you do anything to help me then? No. You waited until I'd left and THEN decided to talk about why I looked like that. You know I don't hate you; it's just the way your 'friend' who-wouldn't-know-what-manners-were-if-they-jumped-up-and-castrated-him-painfully over there called me 'an egotistical, idiotic, cross-dressing fairy freak, and also wanted to know where my ditzy partner in Team 'Useless' was, or if she finally learned to keep her oversized cake-hole shut'"

      Ash took one look at Jessie cracking her knuckles menacingly and fled out of the glade with Pikachu calling out and following him. She collapsed against James laughing, not bothered that their charade was up with Brock and Misty still there. When they were able to control themselves, Jessie was first to speak.

      "Thanks for looking after James last night. Sorry for scaring your friend off, but the so-called honour of Team Rocket had to be defended. We were originally going to do something like this last night, but we had other engagements to attend to. Sorry for dragging you into this Misty, but we ran short on things to hurl at each other, so we exploited you. We're really sorry, but we were banking on you reacting before we could threaten Ash properly"

      Yet again, Misty was going to say something but was interrupted, but this time it was by Brock as he'd had a sudden epiphany. He pointed at James and called out, loudly:

      "Virgin!"

      It failed to take the desired effect though, as instead of becoming embarrassed when everyone turned and looked at him to see whether or not the accusation held some truth or not, he just shrugged and said:

      "Yeah, so? My virginity actually means something to me, unlike you obviously"

      "But you're old-you should have done something by now, surely?"

      James narrowed his eyes at Brock and said, with a hint of iciness in his voice:

      "I'm eighteen, not exactly my definition of old. And if you must know, I was very close to, as you say, 'doing something' three years ago, which later made me realise that what I had with the girl wasn't worth losing my virginity, since I wouldn't be able to see her after that night. You know who the girl is, but I'm not willing to reveal her identity just yet. And before any stupid questions start, it is someone you know really well, but not Jessie"

      Misty finally spoke up and said:

      "So all that stuff you were shouting at each other earlier…"

      "Was completely false. Though we were very tipsy after my eighteenth, nothing happened. Not even a kiss"

      "And does that mean that the whole thing was…"

      "Pre-meditated, yes"

      "Oh. I suppose we'd better look for Ash, Who knows, he might be able to work out how _not to get us lost in the forest. See you around"_

      "'Bye"

      After they were positive that they were alone again, Jessie wrapped her arms around James' neck and said:

      "You know, the way she was looking at us, I almost feel sorry for the way we treated Misty"

      "Almost. Though I still feel guilty for having to say those things to you"

      "I know exactly what you mean. But I'll tell you one thing, with all insults aside, the thought of us sleeping together wasn't that bad. Not right this second, but whenever we feel the time is right, I'd like to be your first, and you mine"

      "Sounds like another brilliant plan to me, but right now, I think we should find Meowth before he feels too left out"

      He kissed her slowly and passionately before she finally let go of him, both feeling the burning desire to stay like that for hours. They picked up their basket and made their way back to their camp hand-in-hand. When they got there, they found Meowth lying on his back asleep with remnants of some fruit he'd eaten. They decided not to wake him up, but instead settled for a light meal of what they'd collected and a conversation.

      "Were you serious earlier when you said you thought your virginity was special to you?"     

      "Yes, why wouldn't I have been serious? I'm not like most guys and my mission in life isn't seeing how fast I can score with some girl I'll probably never see again. I just couldn't do it"

      "Who was the girl you nearly did something with? I don't remember hearing about her before"

      "That's because I never told you. I got the impression that if I told you, chances would be that you'd try and get with some guy just so I wouldn't think any less of you. Besides, this all happened just before you came back from that nursing school"

      " That's true anyway. What made you think that those two would know her?"

      "Hard based facts. Do you remember that gym we raided with a vacuum, which had three leaders? I went out with Violet for a while and we got pretty serious. In fact, we were both naked in bed together when Misty walked in on us. She was only six or seven at the time, so luckily she doesn't recognise me. I would have felt so guilty if I would have gone through with it and not been able to talk to you about it or anything"

      "The only reason I'm still a virgin is because I always saw myself with you, so I suppose I just saved myself for you"

      "I don't think any other time I've said this I've meant it one thousandth, no, one millionth, of how much I mean it now. I love you"

      "You have no idea how great that is to hear coming directly from your lips. I love you too"

      They sealed the proclamation of their love with a passion filled kiss, but they were so comfortable in their positions that they drifted off to sleep after a few minutes.

James, however, failed to have an easy sleep. As an alternative to light-hearted dreams after finding out the woman of his desire loved him, he was instead troubled with nightmares that were so pragmatic that he was left wondering whether or not it had been a vision of sorts.

      In the first vision, two shrouded figures were towering over him in a threatening manner. He couldn't understand why he was lying on the ground in the first place, but he clearly remembered being knocked out with excruciating pain searing up his right leg.

      Although that one had scared him, he had been truly terrified in the second one. The setting for this one had been the entrance hall in his house of all places, with Cassidy holding a razor-sharp blade to his throat. That part wasn't the part that freaked him out; it was when he was witnessing Butch strip Jessie easily at gunpoint with the intent of raping her, as it appeared, that he was petrified. He had luckily jolted awake before he could see the terrible deed take place, but he was drenched in a cold-sweat as a result of the mere thought of his beloved being defaced.

      Relief washed over him as he looked down and saw that she was safe, but he still dreaded the thought of it ever happening, in fact as a child, he had seen a few flashes of his dearly loved grandmother's death a couple of days before both she and her husband tragically died in a car-crash. Only two people in the world knew about them, him and his aunt Alexandria who was only a few years older than him. It can't be another vision; I haven't seen her for years and this place is nowhere near her mansion

      He decided to go for a quick swim to freshen himself up a bit, so he wrote a note explaining where he was going and left it where he'd been lying, mainly out of good manners more than anything else. He stripped down to his underwear again and dove into the refreshing water to remove another layer of sweat that had rapidly formed on his skin when he thought about his nightmares again. The mildly salty water stung his wounds, causing him to mutter a few obscenities under his breath. 

      When he felt like he was clean again, he swam back to the edge and decided to lie back against the back and watched the sun slowly change from crystal blue to a husky yellow. The sun slowly began to sink, and when it was nearly gone he saw Jessie jump into the water beside him. No words were exchanged between them, but after another passion-filled liaison between their lips, they swam out to the rocks in the middle of the water for a better view of the sunset.

      They remained there long after the sun had faded completely away from their sight. They swam over to the sheer cliff face and climbed up it to explore the caves. The first two expanded back far into the earth, which they didn't really feel like viewing as they had no idea what dangers could be potentially lying in wait for them as the area was only lit up by moonlight. 

      It appeared to be third time lucky for them as they entered a cave whose area was barely bigger than their campsite. The setting was completely romantic; the stone running along the ground and framing the walls was quite pleasant to the touch, contrasting with the severe coldness of their feet. They heard a slight trickling sound and assumed that its heat must have been generated from a hot spring.

      Although they lay together on the warm stone they were still shivering slightly, something that James noticed almost straightaway. He snaked one arm around her waist and whispered in her ear:

      "You'll catch your death of cold if you lie there in something wet"

      Although he'd been only half serious when he'd said it, he hadn't expected her to unhook her bra and say:

      "You're right. Care to help me? If you do, I'll return the favour"

      "Are you sure you want to do this? I mean, if you are feeling uncomfortable about all this we don't have to, I'll understand. Especially since we haven't got protection or anything with us, and you might get pregnant"

      "I know we've only just started going out with each other, so if it was any other guy it'd make me look easy but it isn't. We've known each other for nearly half of our lives, so there's really no need for us to do the 'getting to know each other really well first' routine. Besides James, I'd suffer any slow and painful torture forever, if it would mean that I could spend one night with you"

      She leaned towards him as though she were about to kiss him, but instead grinned and removed both her bra and his boxers in one swift motion. He laughed and their initial nervousness vanished as they melted into one another whilst the night drew on. 

      Little did they realise that across the river, two figures crouched together in the untamed forest's floor, watching the lust-filled activity unfold before them. Nor did they realise that the male had a camera with a night-vision enabled zoom lens wrapped around his neck. Once the young lovers were preparing to go asleep, the intruders stole away into the night, deciding that they'd need a decent rest before awaiting their daily phone call, so they'd be sufficiently refreshed for delivering this newfound information.

      And for receiving instructions on when they should initiate the next stage of their plan.


	3. September 3rd, 2000

                                Sunday, 3rd September 2000

      James, as per usual, was the first of them to wake up, but it took him a few seconds to figure out where he was. He knew where he was instantly when he saw his girlfriend resting beside him, and memories of what had happened the night before flooded back into his head. He decided not to move too much in case he woke her up, so instead he remained on the warm cave floor and listened to the world slowly coming to life outside. His eyes were becoming unnaturally heavy, since he hadn't had a good night's sleep in a few days now, but fought against it, as he wanted to see Jessie's face as she woke up.

      He was jolted out of his dream sequences of what he'd done the night before by Jessie moving slightly as she slowly opened her eyes. He tried to control his smile when he looked at her, but failed miserably. He kissed her lightly on her forehead and whispered:

      "Morning, Jess"

      "Morning, James. Although to be honest, it doesn't feel like it's late enough to be morning yet. I'm still caught up in last night if you ask me"

      "I'm the same. Thank you"

      "For what? Last night was mutually beneficial you know"

      "I'm not entirely sure why I feel so grateful, I think it's mainly because I never actually imagined us doing that in real life since I've dreamt about it for so long. All I can say is that I'm glad I've done it with you as I've always hoped, and not some girl who I'll never see again"

      "I still can't believe we actually went through with it. I can't quite explain it, but for me everything feels so, I don't know, different? I'm still expecting to wake up anytime now"

      James looked outside and saw the familiar sight of the sun slowly creeping over the horizon, so slow in fact, that it looked like it was trying to free itself from the unspoken forces that seemed to be holding it down. He turned back to his girlfriend and said gently:

      "Just think, the last time we saw the sun we were down in the water below us, Meowth had some idea where we were, not to mention the fact that we were both still virgins. It's amazing what can happen in those short hours, isn't it?"

      "I know this means our friendship will never be the same again, but I feel that this weekend has made it change for the better. The only thing I'd change is how we started out"

      "I wouldn't. Not for anything the world could present to me"

      "Why's that?"

      "Think about it. Not only would we not have had that 'argument' in front of the brats, but also I think the pain we both felt initially was replaced with a stronger sense of love than we would have experienced without the threat of never seeing each other. Plus, when it was just the both of us at the camp, the grounds for our first kiss were easier. I just couldn't imagine us kissing in the lab, could you?"

      "I'll admit I felt relief when Meowth wasn't there, but I still don't want him to feel left out"

      "Should I have asked him to join in last night?"

      "That's disgusting!"

      "Yeah I know. Just because you enjoy bestiality doesn't mean he should have to suffer. I know what you mean, but I have no intentions of sweeping you off your feet away from him. I haven't got a brush with me anyway"

      "Ha. Ha. Ha. Very funny, I don't think"

      "Suck my kiss"

      "Sounds great to me. Seems that you can come up with good ideas after all"

      "Are you saying I lack good ideas?"

      "At least we both know after last night that you aren't lacking in other areas"

      "Back at you"

       With a sense of reluctance clearly visible, they kissed briefly and put their now-dry underwear on and left the warm cave. Roughly five minutes later they were together on the ground and thankfully their clothes were virtually untouched. Meowth looked at them with a mixed expression of relief and jealousy, as he felt like they didn't want him around. He refrained from voicing his thoughts however, and continued to speak to them as he usually would.

      Jessie walked down to the river to freshen up and to fill their water skins whilst she was there. Her real reason for leaving was that she could barely look at James without wanting a repeat session of the night before, and as it was it took her twice as long to get ready than usual due to flashbacks. She wasn't sure if she was simply remembering James calling out her name, but she could have sworn that she heard someone whispering her name slowly and repetitively. She shrugged the feeling that she was being watched away and returned with her head still in the clouds.

      James caught her eyes a few times as he prepared their meal and flashed her a grin each time he did so. He dealt out their rations and doused the campfire. Following breakfast, they put their pitiful stocks in their balloon and flew it in the direction of the nearest village to replenish their supplies. After landing the balloon carefully in the edge of the forest, James headed off towards the market with Meowth in tow, whilst Jessie went off to some shopping of her own.

      As usual, the male members were finished buying their provisions first, so they waited at the balloon for her to return. As they silently stuffed the purchases into their designated areas, they couldn't help wonder how Jessie could take so long in such small villages. James was resting against the side of the balloon whilst he waited for Meowth to finish putting the rest of the supplies, when his eye caught sight of a piece of paper resting on the bottom of the basket. Curious to see what it was, he unfolded it inconspicuously to Meowth and read it silently to himself. What he didn't expect to see was a twisted poem written in a blood-red pen:

      'We know what you're up to,

       We saw you busy last nigh',

       Either you stop what you do,

       Or your darling will die'

      James refolded the paper and stuffed it into his pocket silently. He was spooked; there was no doubt about that as it was clearly playing across his face. He decided to retain the knowledge of them being stalked to himself for a little while, as he despised the idea of worrying Jessie needlessly and didn't particularly fancy the idea of telling Meowth just yet, as it would involve revealing the fact that he'd slept with Jessie. 

      He tried to reassure himself that it was just Ash's way of achieving a sense of revenge after yesterday's clash. He found that possibility highly improbable, not only as it would involve a trio of pre-adolescents not only spying on them hours after they had parted, but also because it would take very high speeds to keep up with the balloon, since it was in the air as well as trees preventing direct access to the routes that would be required.

      He began to push all thoughts of various possibilities of who their stalkers could be to the back of his mind, but it failed to cease him from tensing up as a new idea suddenly struck him; the note could also have been meant for Jessie. He finished what he was doing and talked to Meowth to ease off his stressed thoughts. Another harsh opportunity entered his head: they were due to go to Viridian City in a few days for their monthly salaries, but what if Giovanni had something to do with their problem? Although he knew fraternising wasn't illegal, he was unwilling to rule out any situations just yet.

      "Are you listening to me or not?"

      He was jolted out of his disturbing thoughts when he realised that he hadn't paid attention to a single word that Meowth had been saying. He apologised and lied that he still had a cracking headache from the other day, and found it difficult to concentrate at times. Well it wasn't exactly lying; he was suffering from those things, but felt unwilling to talk about the note.

      He could have sworn that he saw Meowth flinch when he mentioned the lab, but failed to pick up on it. They resumed their conversation, but Meowth was still able to detect James' lack of concentration, so mentioned a subject he knew would get his attention.

      "I see you kept Jessie busy last night"

      "What exactly are you implying with that?"

      "I went out last night and found you guys swimming. You must have tired her out if neither of you came back till this morning"

      "I suppose you could say that. Besides, it wasn't exactly easy to see the right path back when you don't have eyes which can see through darkness like yours"

      "I guess so. But you also don't have to wait until a certain part of the year before you can procreate, do you?"

      "You know I don't see her like that, but I had to wait a hell of a lot longer than a few months"

      "So you don't deny it then?"

      "Why would I?"

      "I thought you might be afraid to tell me without Jess' permission"

      "You asked me, so I didn't exactly tell you out of the blue. You're still our friend, so regardless of anything else I don't see why we should keep information from you. _Certain_ information anyway"

      "Trust Me-owth, I don't want to _know certain information! I feel kind of jealous when I see you both together; it makes me remember what I lost when I was with Meowsie. Although I do believe that you'll have a bit more luck than I did"_

      "I hope so too. You loved her, didn't you?"

      "You might get over a nasty break-up, no matter how long or hard it can be, but you don't stop loving someone who means that much to you"

      "I've let go of a couple of girls who meant a lot to me, but Jessie's different. I might think this at the start of every relationship, but this time it's somehow…different. I think it's because I spent so long thinking that I could never have her that I feel so determined to make this work out right"

      "There's something bothering you though, isn't there?"

      "How can you tell?"

      "It couldn't be more obvious if you were running through Viridian City during rush hour in a loincloth with the words 'I'm worried' tattooed on your chest"

      "That's a mental image we could've all done without, but yes, I do feel worried. I might have ruined Jess' life if she falls pregnant after last night"

      "And…?"

      "And what?"

      "There's something else, I can tell. You can't lie to a liar, you know that"

      "Alright, I'll tell you. Although I'm glad last night happened, at least two people were watching us as we were doing it"

      "You're probably just being paranoid, do you have any solid proof that there were people spying on you?"

      "I found this on the bottom of the basket when we came back"

He took the note back out of his pocket and handed it to his furry companion, with concern visibly playing across both of their faces. 

      "At first I figured that it was the twerps' way of finding revenge after the way I left their company, but the more I think about it, the more unlikely it becomes"

      "Do you intend telling Jessie?"  
      "I don't know. Not only do I not want to worry her needlessly, but also I don't want to spoil her first time for her"

      "I can see where you're coming from, Jimmy, but this is serious. How would you feel if Jess had found the note instead of you, then kept it to herself?"

      "I don't know what to do about it anymore. I don't want to ruin her memories, but I don't know if I should risk not telling her. Whoever it is that's watching us could be following her right now, but since she knows nothing about this she can't prepare herself for the unexpected"

      "Do you think it might be a jealous ex?"

      "Doubt it. But then again, it's still too early to rule anything out completely"

      James glanced up and happened to spot Jessie approaching the balloon. He took the threatening note back and they both agreed not to mention anything about it in front of her just yet, but James swore that he would tell her in his own time.

      Nothing unusual happened throughout the remainder of the day as they leisurely flew the balloon in no direction in particular. After nightfall, they landed with no great trouble and set up their camp for the night. James felt guilty for not telling her as they ate their evening meal, but instead settled for waiting for Meowth to leave them for his nightly hunt.

      At roughly twenty to twelve, Meowth finally gave the young couple the privacy they'd both been yearning for all day, but for different reasons. Jessie took her lover off his guard and kissed him on his lips with a surprising amount of passion. He prevented himself from going too far with her and gently pushed her back a bit when she had him backed up against a tree. She gave him a perplexed look that undoubtedly said 'what was that for?' but he suddenly lost his nerve and ended up lying to her.

      "It's nothing really, I just still have a really bad headache from the other day, so would you mind if we had an early night tonight?"

      "Of course not. This doesn't have anything to do with last night, does it?"  
      "No, that is if you overlook the fact that we didn't get too much sleep"

      "I suppose it's a good thing if we sleep a little earlier than usual"

      "Oh yeah, and why's that?"

      "Then you'll be fully rested for the next time we do something like that again"

      "See? I _do _come up with good ideas!"

      "What I meant was you hardly ever come up with good ideas which actually work, which happens about as often as I'm nice to the twerps"

      "Are you insulting my intelligence?"

      "Do you think I am?"

      "Hey, that's a trick question!"

      "And I'm a trickster. It evens out. Now get ready for bed before I show you what my tricks can be like when I put my mind to them"

      "Okay, but just one thing. Was that a promise or a threat?"

      "Keep misbehaving and you'll find out"

      Jessie moved away from him to let him start stripping for bed, then after watching him for a couple of minutes, she followed his actions. They put their sleeping bags right next to each other, and after climbing into them and sharing a goodnight kiss, James let his arm gently rest on her hip as she drifted off to sleep. 

      Although he had been the one to suggest going to sleep earlier than usual, and that listening to Jessie fall into a light sleep was soothing, he was cursed with insomnia. Partially out of guilt for keeping vital information away from his best friend, partially out of concern for not knowing who thought it would be funny to stalk them, but another factor that was pissing him off was how they had been watched by at least two people when they lost their virginity. He knew that it made no real difference in the long run, but it was irritating all the same. Memories from his haunting dreams entered his head periodically, leaving him scared for the remainder of the night.

      For the first time in what could have been ages, he was still awake when Meowth returned. Just as he was about to curl up beside the fire like he normally did, Meowth noticed that James was still awake. He stood up and stretched with his back arched and fur slightly raised, then lay between the young couple. James looked at the cat with an air of regret about his appearance, then slowly whispered in a hushed voice:

      "I just couldn't do it. I couldn't tell her that people had seen her naked; she's always had a fear of that since she was in her early to mid teens. It feels like my insides are getting tighter with each passing second for not telling her, but I'll feel worse if I do tell her and it turns out to be some idea of a sick joke"

      Jessie made a soft grunt in her sleep, but luckily for them she failed to wake up. It was a sufficient enough threat for James to tell Meowth that they'd talk again in the morning when there'd be no real danger of Jessie overhearing them. They exchanged 'goodnights', but this time James successfully drifted off to sleep. 


	4. September 4th, 2000

                                Monday, 4th September 2000

      For the first time in months, Jessie was the first of the trio to show any signs of life at their camp. She glanced behind her and saw James still asleep, something she rarely had the opportunity to see. She was a little surprised to feel Meowth lying behind her too, but just assumed the fire had burned itself out before he'd come back and the crisp air had made him cold.

      She realised that James mustn't have been lying to her when he said he was overly tired the night before, then found herself remembering the last time she had woken up. She had to battle her willpower with tremendous effort to prevent her from turning around and kissing him awake; the only thing that convinced her otherwise was that she'd wake up and/or squash Meowth in the process. Taking extra care not to disturb Meowth in any way, she turned around and decided to make do with watching James sleep for a while.

      She found that she couldn't stop herself from gently brushing her fingers along his facial features and almost felt guilty when she caused him to wake up. He was certainly surprised to see that Jessie was awake first, but didn't appear to be angry at her waking him up. He leaned over and gave her a light kiss on her lips, as if it were an invitation, then whispered 'Good morning' to her. She breathed back a similar response then mimicked his action, only with a little more emotion in it than their last one. They both drew apart quickly when they felt Meowth stir in his sleep, neither of them possessing the desire to be at the butt of his jokes for the entirety of the day.

      With one final kiss, they got up and put their uniforms on, leaving Meowth to wake up in his own time. James relit a fire to cook them some breakfast whilst Jessie applied some make-up. He couldn't stop himself from yawning which made him remember why he had been awake for the best part of the night. As tired as he was, he still found it amazing that she had been awake before him. It usually happened about as often as he rang his parents.

      After breakfast was prepared, he told Jessie to wake Meowth up as he dealt it out, guilt constantly gnawing away at him for not telling her. Jessie noticed that he was deeply lost in thought as they ate, but didn't want to mention anything whilst Meowth was there in case he was thinking of ways to break up with her. She found it highly unlikely that he would ditch her after a couple of days, but he had been acting very distant since they'd slept together.

      They decided to return to work that day after their last couple of days, hoping for once they'd have something to present to Giovanni a little more impressive than a request for a few more dollars each month for basic supplies to survive on. They gathered their essentials up again, and then flew high into the deep blue sky in order to have a better view of any pokémon that could be deemed rare and/or valuable.

      After a fruitless scan of the surrounding nature, James stood behind Jessie and snaked his arms around her stomach, then teasingly kissed her neck lightly. He made her feel even better when he brushed the hair away from her ear and gently whispered:

      "I love you"

      She leaned back into his arms and kissed him as if it were her way of showing her gratitude. She turned around completely and rested her head on his shoulder, showing him how relaxed her made her feel. In fact, it made her feel so overwhelmingly drowsy, that she closed her eyes as he continued kissing her hair. Their romantic moment was shattered when they heard Meowth declare that he could see the twerp trio roughly five miles in the distance heading to where they'd spent the night, so they slowly tailed them. 

      James began to feel extremely ill when he realised that there was no way possible that they could have written the note if there was that much of a distance between them. He swallowed his fear and tried to look as though nothing was wrong with him. He hadn't really suspected the twerps to be truthful, but there had been the somewhat comforting chance that it could have been a very unfunny way of them exacting their revenge, and not a group of perverted people who had nothing better to do than cause unnecessary trouble. Sure, he was a criminal, but he only joined it to be near Jessie and for the decent pay [which no longer existed], to top it off, he never did anything evil if he could prevent it.

      He gave Jessie one last kiss on her lips before turning to Meowth and asking if there was any plan in particular that they were going to use. Nothing entered any of their heads, so they settled for the usual ambushing attack, which, of course was never successful. They were just about to descend when a sharp glare of sunlight being reflected off glass caught the very corner of his eye. He spun around in the direction that the sheen had attracted his attention, but his rapid scan of the area was fruitless. He found himself on edge for the countless time that day, but this time he found it impossible to calm himself down again this time.

      As they stealthily approached the arguing trio of pre-adolescents, James found it really difficult to keep track of things; in fact he went from appearing vacant to being jumpy within the same minute. Both of his teammates failed to notice this, or if they did they didn't make it obvious that they were worried about his behaviour. After securing the balloon carefully in a small clearing, they surreptitiously followed their foes at a safe distance.

      Meanwhile at their trademark Meowth balloon, two figures stepped out from the dense surrounding shrubbery and invaded their targets' privacy. They emptied out the contents of every bag they came across and threw item after item onto the bottom of the balloon, regardless of the chance that there were objects which were both breakable and held sentimental value. They found what they were looking for, and with a smirk, the girl pocketed it and just out of pure malice, she tossed the remaining things on the dried mud around the basket.

      After completing their ransacking of other people's personal belongings, they unscrewed the lid of a water skin and added a special ingredient to the contents of the container. The male recorded an account of their assigned activities they had accomplished successfully, and the time they were completed at, in the report sheet that was due to be handed up later in the afternoon. The girl sighed and whispered wearily:

      "Why do we have to wait so long until Stage 2? It's really tiring me out the way we have to follow THEM day in day out"

      "I'm not overly keen on this travelling either, but just think how much more we'll earn the longer this is dragged out. We're being paid more in one week than I've ever seen in a month's salary"

      "We've been working so hard on this assignment that I've just been too tired to do as much as I used to. Our days now seem to consist of us waiting for a call, driving halfway across the country and then ruining their lives. Then going to bed and doing the same thing the next day"

      "It's not too bad, you know Stage 2 is as good as initiated, then while they're dealing with that, well, they won't be moving too much now, will they? We'll be able to rest up properly and hopefully we won't have to work quite so hard again. At least not for a long while"

      "I'm almost feeling sorry for those two. I'm still not overly keen on either of them, but I still don't think we really needed to photograph them at _that_ particular moment. I know I'd feel pretty pissed if anyone did that, let alone their 'precious' first time"

      "I didn't mind it. I certainly enjoyed filming them fucking. Who care's if it ruined their so-called moment, we'll definitely receive a heavy bonus when we present our 'evidence'"

      "Why are you always like that?"

      "Like what?"

      "Thinking that the two most important things in life are sex and money"

      "In case you hadn't noticed, when we're following these freaks all over the country, we can't receive our money as often as we'd like, which means I can't go out as much as I like which in turn leads on to me not getting laid as often as I'd like. The only half-decent looking bitch around here is the one we're following, so of course I can't go near her. Now do you see why I don't particularly mind destroying their moment? I at least got a good view of what I can't have as long as these people employ us"

      "So you don't even think I'm a quote 'half-decent looking bitch'?"

      "No"

      "Fuck you"

      "That's the point, I don't want to. Picture this: I wouldn't go near you, even if it meant I could get Jessie. Now look me in the eye and tell me that you didn't enjoy seeing fem-boy"

      "I can honestly say I didn't. If I had been so desperate to see him, I would have done so when I went out with him"

      "You're even more pathetic then I originally thought"

      "How the hell does anything make me pathetic?"

      "You're still bitter because he left you, that's what's making you appear pathetic"

      "You're right, I resent him for leaving me, especially to _IT, but I still have feelings for him. And just because you're moody because you haven't had sex in a few days doesn't give you the right to take it out on me. You were the one who accepted this contract in the first place. I was happy enough with one sadistic employer, I didn't need any others"_

      "I'm sorry, this is just tiring me out so much that I'm snapping at you out of exhaustion. You know I don't honestly think you're pathetic; I do care about you, just not in quite the same sense as I care about Jessie"

      "What does she have that I don't? Other than a guy who really seems to care about her that is"

      "It's impossible to place it exactly. It's the same as one guy being attractive to you and someone else being a complete jerk. I guess it boils down to taste at the end of the day"

      "Can we leave this subject now? I lost James to Jessie a long time ago. Even hearing her name makes me want to hurt her so much, to get her back for how I felt when he left me"

      "If they find out who's behind this, not only would we not get paid for the last few 'errands' we did, but if our original employer finds out we've neglected our duties then, well, the roles could be reversed"

      "I think I just heard something coming, we'd better get out of here"

      "Okay then, let's go"

      Checking that the item they'd stolen was safely in their possession; they made a quick scan of the area, and then fled to the safety of their lookout spot. They would certainly be given a handsome reward for retrieving this...

      The trio of troublemakers attentively tailed their targets, and then decided to take their course of action as the gap closed between their foes and them. They were in the middle of formulating the finer details of their plan, when the nerves that had steadily increasing at a drastic rate inside him all day finally overwhelmed James to one of the worst possibilities that could happen-he blacked out. 

      The next thing he was aware of was Jessie kneeling beside him, with a worried expression clearly playing right across her face. He tried to sit up, but when he did a nauseating wave of cold sweat enveloped his body, causing Meowth to crawl up his legs to see if he felt sick again. He was barely able to distinguish what she was saying to him from the dull throb in his head, but with the feeling that he was going to throw up, he was nearly terrified to talk in case he did. 

      It was only when he found he could sit up without the urge to pass out again, that he noticed that the people they'd been pursuing were standing around him also. She softly explained to him that Pikachu had heard him fall, and then it had run over to see what had happened. Ash has seen this and they'd followed it in here, seeing James as they'd done so. The only thing he found remotely funny about what had happened was that Ash was noticeably keeping his distance from Jessie. 

      Purely out of habit, he kissed Jessie on her lips briefly before getting up. He regretted his action as he could hear stifled laughter coming from their left.  She helped him stand up properly then whispered in his ear in a barely audible tone:

      "Don't be too upset with them. It was good to see you go from startling white to red; I didn't think I'd see you with colour any time before next year!"

      "If you wanted colour in my cheeks, all you need have said would be 'cave'. See? It just put further depths of crimson in yours!"

      "I'm glad to see you're feeling a bit better, but can you think of anything which might have set it off?"

      "Probably just a more serious side-effect from the other day. Don't worry about me, I'm probably just still overtired"

      As guilty as he felt lying to her, he knew that if he told her then it would also involve the twerps hearing the real reason too. It wasn't the fact that he despised them, in fact they'd grown on him like a fungus, it was their attitude they had when a problem arose; they never left anything alone until it was solved and they could take all the credit, regardless of whether or not they did all the work involved.

      His legs were still shaky as he stood up, resulting in Jessie supporting him with her arm around his waist. Whereas he was grateful for her help, he detested the way it created a strong sense of amusement for everyone else there. He wanted to kiss her so badly, but he knew that if he did it would only make the atmosphere more awkward than it already was. Jessie was thinking pretty much the same thing, but she expressed her embarrassment in the only way she knew best: anger.

      "What, exactly, is it that you find amusing? My best friend just collapsed and what do you do when he comes to? Laugh. That's not exactly fair, now is it?"

      "That's not what I was laughing at, and you know that's the truth. And are you quite sure you're just his best friend?"

      "What makes you think that I'll define the relationship between myself and James? It's absolutely none of your concern!"

      "You seemed keen enough to make me feel completely flustered the day before yesterday, so I think it's time for a little payback. Fair's fair after all"

      James felt out of sequence as he heard the argument between Misty and his girlfriend becoming more intense by the second, so he whispered something else in her ear:

      "Come on honey, there's no harm been done, has there? And I can't honestly see how much more your cheeks could clash with your hair colour"

      "I still find it humiliating and I can't help it. You really scared me a few minutes ago, I wasn't sure if you'd wake up again or if something worse would happen"

      "I know I said I wanted an early night last night, but I still didn't fall asleep until after Meowth came back, hence the reason why I slept that late this morning. I'm sure that it's just lack of sleep that's bringing me down"

      "I sure hope you're right. Don't dare do anything like that again, otherwise you'll have me to deal with"

      Although they both knew she was deeply concerned for him, neither of them felt that her threat was heartfelt. He felt tired of them being the butt of their foes' jokes, so he decided to show them that he didn't care by kissing Jessie deeply for a few seconds. After the initial shock wore away, she responded with an equal level of passion, forcing a surprised reaction from the other three. When he was finished giving his 'demonstration', he shot a look towards the amazed youths, which seemed to say 'if you have a problem with it, you have to deal with us'. The subject wasn't brought up again, causing a strong sense of relief to wash over the amorous duo.

      Meowth suddenly pricked his ears forward and ran back the way they'd come, making his partners assume that he'd just heard a potential meal. Ash circumspectly approached James and asked how he was feeling, who replied that his senses were slowly becoming more alert. As his body gradually recovered from the shock it had taken to its system, a plan slowly began to formulate in his head. Instead of trying to steal Pikachu, he went out on a limb and _asked Ash if they could borrow it for a few days. As predicted, Ash was taken-aback by this and asked him why he should do it. James cleared his throat and said:_

      "If you lend it to us, then it would be us risking execution to get it back for you, whereas if we fail this mission for much longer, we _will _be killed for wasting so much of our organisation's time, money and effort. If you lend us Pikachu, then that risk will be eliminated, and for us bothering you like this, we'll give you 60% of the money we'll receive for this 'job'"

      "How do I know you're not trying to pull off some sort of trick?"

      "Did we capture Pikachu the other day?"

      "Yes"

      "Did we keep it?"

      "No, but…"

      "Did I steal any of your pokémon the other night when I had the golden opportunity?"

      "No"

      "See? We can be trustworthy when we want to be. I hate this job and as much as I'd love to be rid of it, we can't resign until at least ten rare pokémon have been submitted within a set time"

      "But how do I know this is one of those times?"

      "Has Jessie beaten you up yet about someone's 'opinion' of a member of Team 'Useless'?"

      "Uh, no"

      "Do you think we would normally let you off something like that? That's another 'No' isn't it? If you want, should you agree to the idea in general, we could send you confirmation of our positions each day for about three days, then you can have it back. Personally I think it's an offer well worth considering, you'll end up with more money than what we'll get, and we'll be the one's running all the risks"

      After five further minutes of persuading Ash to accept their offer, he eventually agreed and they finalised their plans. Once everyone was clear on how it would work and where they'd all be receiving/making phone calls from at specific times, Pikachu willingly left with the older humans. Jessie was still in disbelief that the plan had worked, but decided not to mention anything about it just yet.

      For some reason, Meowth looked exhausted, as though he'd just done something in a hurry, which wasn't altogether far from the truth. It had been a tiring job making sure that all evidence of the clutter surrounding the balloon had disappeared before his friends had returned. As he inspected his partners carefully, he noticed that they had Pikachu with them. He was briefly filled in on the instructions they had to follow, and then they set off towards their first checkpoint.

      Later that evening, after they'd landed safely and eaten their final meal of the day, Jessie led James out of the clearing by his hand. She found it challenging to ask him anything about the last few hours as he continued to kiss her neck, but she eventually managed to ask him how he'd come up with a plan that the twerps would believe. He pulled back slightly and whispered in her ear:

      "It just came to me as I watched them laughing at us. And, before you get worried, there is a major loophole which I'll bet they haven't thought about"

      "Which is?"

      "Since they won't know how much we'll get for it, how will they know they get 60% of it?"

      "Whoa, I'm impressed"

      "I knew you would be, that's why I didn't say what the estimated amount would be. Not to mention the fact that we haven't a clue what we'll get anyway, it's been that long since we've handed anything decent in"

      "How do you feel now?"

      "Not too bad, just very tired. I still think that's the reason why I passed out earlier, and I seriously doubt it's anything we aren't capable of handling together"

      "Together. I still have to get used to the sound of that"

      "Maybe this'll help"

      He looked into her eyes, which were reflecting the star-dappled sky within their amazing hue, then slowly kissed her. They were unsure exactly how long they spent there standing like that, but they only returned when the cool air made them feel slightly chilled. Pikachu lay beside the fire, curled up asleep, and Meowth asked James to talk to him for a minute in private. He took a quaff out of his water skin, and then turned to see what it was that Meowth wanted.

      "I ran off earlier because I heard somebody at our balloon, but by the time I'd gotten there, it was obvious that they'd been rummaging through our stuff. Everything was strewn around the balloon and since I didn't want to cause Jess to panic, I put everything back where I thought they belonged. This could be serious, you'll have to tell her sooner or later"

      "I have to pick the right moment. I was going to tell her, but I think I've already caused her enough worry today to further her problems, don't you?"

      "All I'm saying is if you keep delaying telling her, she might find out some other way"

      "Please don't tell her Meowth, I will tell her, I swear"

      "I won't, but what happens if it's her these people want to hurt, not you"

      "I don't know what to think anymore. Let's settle this tomorrow, okay?"

      "'Night Jim"

      "'Night Meowth"

      After taking another mouthful of water, he stripped down to his underwear and lay in his sleeping bag beside Jessie. He managed to fall asleep pretty quickly for once; just a little surprised that he was feeling excessively thirsty considering he had drunk so much water.


	5. September 5th, 2000

                                            Tuesday, September 5th 2000

      Having virtually recovered from the exhaustion he had been suffering from over the last few days, James easily woke up when he thought he'd heard a twig snap. He was still half asleep, which wasn't too surprising as it was something like half six, but he could have sworn he'd heard something all the same. He rubbed his eyes to make himself become more alert, but his throat was parched, as it often was if he woke up earlier than intended, so he decided that he didn't want to be unable to say anything if their 'followers' were in the vicinity. He reached for his water-skin and drank a good bit so he wouldn't have to do so again until he made their breakfast, then stood up to put some clothes on.

      As he hurriedly pulled some footwear on, he noticed a small smile playing across his girlfriend's facial features, which made him feel a bit easier knowing that she was sleeping well enough. He had just turned and was heading off to scope out the area when he heard her mumble something that sounded suspiciously like 'I love you James'. This made him feel a bit stronger, and soon any trace of nervousness in his gait was replaced with a new sense of determination. Of course, he would feel pretty stupid if he didn't find anything after all this…

      He had just about given up all hope of the chance of finding something after a fruitless search which had lasted twenty minutes, when by sheer fluke he saw something out of the corner of his eye: footprints in the drying mud. Whether he found the information useful or intimidating, it was only after a closer inspection that he saw that there were two sets together. He glanced back the way he had come, and then followed the direction that the footprints were headed in for a while.

      His head suddenly became overly heavy, and the only thing that raced through his head wasNO! I can't black out again, at least not now- I'm too close to finding out who these freaks are! He resisted his body's urge to slow down and forced himself to speed up the hunt for his pursuers instead. The now all-too familiar wave of nausea washed over him, but this instinct he couldn't ignore. He steadied himself against a large tree, but whilst he maintained his grip on his vision, he failed to do so with the contents of his stomach. He threw up into the shrubbery, but his senses still weren't completely revived, and a sort of gritty feeling was lingering in his system.

      Once he had a grasp on his bearings again, he quickened up his pace and tried to think of anything that might get rid of the new illness that he felt building up inside him. He eventually felt too tired to see straight so he ended up resting against another tree. He was contemplating returning to his girlfriend before she woke up, but something changed his mind completely; he was holding his stomach to try and eliminate the possibility of him getting sick again, when he heard the savage breaking of a twig snap roughly two feet behind him. 

      Instinctively, he spun around to see what was behind him, but not only did he fail to see anything, but he also made all colour drain from his vision as he'd turned too quickly in his instable state. The next thing he knew, he received a sharp blow to the head with a thick, blunt object that caused him to fall forward, causing his senses to deteriorate as he did so, but not before he saw the savage glint of a dagger as someone unsheathed it. The last thing he acknowledged was searing pain striking him at roughly six different parts of his right leg. He slowly passed out in excruciating pain, praying that whatever happened to him, his girlfriend and feline companion would remain safe.

      Jessie yawned and slowly opened her eyes before turning around to kiss her boyfriend good morning, but she sat up in shock when she saw he wasn't there. Shock was quickly exchanged with bewilderment and panic when she saw his clothes were also gone. What was puzzling her was that James usually waited until someone was awake before he went away from camp, or if he did leave it was usually only to relieve himself or something he did **not** need to put all of his clothes on for.

      He's left me. He didn't like what he got so he just left. Why did he have to do this to me? I thought he genuinely loved me too She called across to Meowth to wake up and when he finally did, she told him what the situation was and that they were going to look for him. Pikachu sat up groggily and saw Jessie hastily pulling some clothes on, so it turned to Meowth and asked what was going on.

      Once they were all ready to go, Pikachu sniffed the air and fortunately for them, he found a trace of James' scent in the air. It began to race after the direction from whence it thought it came from, causing the remaining members of Team Rocket to tear after it. It became trickier to follow the scent in the densely wooded area, but to their advantage, Meowth saw a set of solitary footprints in the mud, and they appeared to be pretty fresh too. Approximately thirty feet further down the trail, fear swept over Meowth as two other sets of footprints became visible. They turned a sharp corner and Jessie released a piercingly loud scream when she saw him.

      She broke down crying and ran over to him, praying that he was still alive. His head lay in a pool of his own blood, causing an unsettling contrast between the sharp crimson of the clotting blood and the eerie white that was his skin. If they'd thought he was overly white yesterday, it was nothing like what he looked like there. His right leg was imprisoned in a wild pokémon gin trap, whose jaws were thankfully at odd angles so they'd failed to shut completely. There was a blood-covered baseball bat beside the tree he was sprawled under, which indicated how his head got like that in the first place.

      She checked his neck for a pulse, and almost screamed again when she found the result; the only difference this time it would have been a scream of joy. She stood up and working off her adrenaline rush,  used her hands to pull the trap away from his leg, and kept her feet on the jaws as she worked on freeing his leg completely. It sickened her when she heard a slight suction sound as the metal came out of his flesh, but she continued working regardless of it.

      It took quite a bit of stamina and strength on Jessie's part, but she somehow managed to carry him back over to the balloon. It was certainly no easy task; he was naturally heavier and unless her imagination was getting the better of her, he was becoming heavier by the second. As she struggled to get him into the basket without twisting his leg in any way, the two pokémon went around collecting all of their equipment.

      Meowth acted as lookout as Jessie took of the R emblazoned jacket on both her and her partner, so that no matter what happened they at least wouldn't be arrested. She draped their sleeping bags across him to try and maintain some of his body heat, and then she silently prayed to herself that he'd be all right. The nearest hospital was only three further minutes in the balloon, and it was located in a small hamlet called 'Ebony Town'.

      After a successful landing, Jessie gathered James up in her arms and she sped into the hospital with the two pokémon not far behind. She became hysterical as he was admitted into the emergency room, but matters were made worse for her when she saw a notice saying that pokémon were forbidden in that section, which resulted in her putting both Meowth and Pikachu in pokéballs. Neither of the pokémon were overly enthusiastic at this idea, but then again they didn't want to make her feel worse if they didn't listen to her.

      When she had composed herself a bit, she was handed some forms to fill in, which mainly regarded James' medical information. She submitted the forms back into reception once they'd been completed, and after finding out that there was no news about his status, she decided to buy herself a cup of coffee to calm her nerves.

      She went over to the vending machine and saw a telephone out of the corner of her eye, which made her realise that she should tell Ash to take the rodent back. The last thing she needed right now was the added responsibility of looking after it. It was proving to be quite challenging just to keep a close eye on herself.

      She sat as near to the emergency room as possible, as though she were trying to hear what was happening in the soundproof room. She drank her coffee slowly, mentally cursing the way she'd thought he'd left her when it was something more serious than what she could ever have imagined. The fact that she was sitting alone was starting to annoy her-it meant that she could hear her own thoughts, which had now moved onto 'what if I didn't bother looking for him at all?'

      Twenty minutes later, she decided to ring Ash for want of something to do even though it was a couple of hours earlier than they had arranged. Luckily for her he was there and she said that something had happened and they couldn't look after Pikachu right now, but they could collect it from them whenever they wanted to. Ash was a little dubious as to why they'd want to return it so quickly after getting it, but he said he would collect it if she gave him their location. She bit her lip and said:

      "Ebony hospital"

      "Is something wrong?"

      "James was involved in an accident of sorts, and there is no way I'm leaving him. I'll see you whenever"

      She hung up the phone and broke down crying again, it had hurt her too much to just say he was in hospital, never mind how he'd looked like when he'd gone in. She knew she'd spoken curtly to Ash when she'd hung up, but right now that was unimportant to her. She returned to her seat feeling completely miserable, but she soon brightened up considerably when a young nurse went up to her and said she could go into room 39C to see him. She thanked her and headed off to see him, overjoyed to know that he was alive.

      She knew that he'd still be groggy from the anaesthetic, so she decided not to ask him too many things about what happened to him in case it caused him to become confused. She rubbed her face with her sleeve to get rid of the sticky trail her tears had left behind, and then she finally entered the room to see him.

      He smiled at her as she sat beside him and tried to sit up a little to talk to her properly. Since he didn't have the strength to lean over and kiss her, he settled for holding her hands instead. They just sat looking at each other for a few minutes, until James broke the pleasant silence by saying:

      "Thanks for helping me. I was terrified I wouldn't see you again"

      "For a while, so was I. I know you'd do the same for me if it were the other way around"

      "Of course I would. I'm sorry for scaring you like that, though to be honest I didn't have much choice in the matter"

      "Did you see who did this?"

      "No, they attacked me from behind so I didn't get a good look at them. I do, however, know for a fact that there were two of them"

      "Why were you out there in the first place? It's unnatural for you to be that far away from camp without saying anything to us first"

      "Jess, I haven't been completely honest over the last few days. Two days ago, just after I'd been shopping with Meowth, there was a note on the basket floor. It's in my pocket if you want to read it"

      "Where are your trousers?"  
      "I think I saw the nurse put them in the cabinet over here. Jess, I didn't tell you because I didn't want to hurt you, just make sure you know that"

      She stood up and checked through each of the drawers until she found what she wanted. A fresh set of tears formed in her eyes as she read it twice in disbelief. She eventually looked over at him and said:

      "Does this mean that these creeps saw us have sex?"

      "I hate the thought of it so much, and I hate myself for not telling you sooner. I didn't want for you to think that the moment wasn't special anymore if I'd told you I wasn't the only one who saw you. I'm so sorry Jessie"

      "I can see how your logic works, but how do you think I felt when **I** saw **you **this morning? It nearly killed me, just the mere threat that you could be taken away from me. Is there anything else you haven't told me?"

      "Yes. Yesterday, someone was searching through our stuff when we went for Pikachu, but Meowth heard them and they left before he was there. The doctors found remnants of a poison in my system, but they say it's nothing too worrying. Don't touch our supplies; if you get hungry or thirsty then buy something. It's just too risky to use them"

      "How are you feeling now?"

      "I'm still under the anaesthetic, so I don't know how sore this is going to get. I have a killer headache, but other than that it's not too bad"

      She walked back over to the side of the bed and lifted up the edge of the covers to see how bad his battle-scars were. His leg was wrapped in a thick bandage, but since it wasn't a cast she felt relieved as it meant his bone was okay. He slid the bottom of his gown up to his abdomen to show her a vicious cut going from his left hipbone downwards for about three inches. Jessie released a barely audible gasp as she saw it; she hadn't seen it earlier that morning as she'd been concentrating in getting him to safety rather than see everything that was wrong with him.

      He covered himself up again, and then gently pulled her forwards for their first kiss of that day. She pulled back after a bit, and half-whispered into his ear:

      "If you ever think about finding out something like this, then decide not to tell me and I hear about it, well, you'll have to deal with me"

      He knew she wasn't serious, but to make sure he was completely in her good books, he kissed her tantalisingly along her neck. They stayed together until half seven, when an aging doctor entered the room to inform that visiting time was over. Their constant pleading to allow her to stay paid off; he arranged to have a second bed moved into the room for her to sleep in. She was surprised to see that not only did the doctor bring her a second bed, but he also had brought some food for her to eat as he had apparently heard her stomach growl as he'd left.

      He took a general check-up on James, and then he took out and showed Jessie the medicine that James needed. He re-explained to them both when he was due to take each tablet at what time, and then he finally left the young couple alone, having wished them a goodnight and delivering a warning for Jessie not to 'over-excite him in his present state'. They both blushed and turned away, so that they failed to keep eye contact with anyone. When they heard the door shut, they burst out laughing after the doctor's final comment.

      Jessie pushed the two beds next to each other until they heard a soft click, indicating that they wouldn't move apart when she made the bed. After she'd finished perfecting her sleeping place, she gave James another kiss before she hungrily ate the food she'd been given. She knew he couldn't feel hungry since he was hooked up to a drip, but she still felt out of place, as for possibly the first time she was the only one eating anything.

      James expressed his exhaustion through a yawn, which she soon mimicked; it may be an early bedtime for them, but it had been the most straining day that had happened to either of them in a long time. She finished what she was eating and stripped down as she normally would before turning off the light and lying beside him in the 'double' bed. She lay beside him and rested her head on his chest with her left arm on his right shoulder. His left arm was resting behind her as if to hold her as close to him as possible, and they quietly exchanged their goodnights. She was just about to go asleep when her eyes shot open. She set off another of her mock threats by saying:

      "Re-hook that now"

      "And if I don't?"

      "This"

      He was half-expecting a blow to the stomach or something like she used to if he questioned her, but preferred what she did do a thousand times over. She sat up slightly and completely removed the article in question before returning to her original position.

      "Oh, and James?"

      "Yeah?"

      "You'll pay dearly for that in the morning"

      "Love you too, Jess"

      "You know I do. 'Night James"

      "'Night honey"


	6. September 6th, 2000

                               Wednesday, September 6th 2000.

      Jessie was first awake for the second time that week, but she knew it was understandable since James would still be under the anaesthetic. She watched him sleep for a few minutes before slipping out of the bed without waking him up. She got dressed, with the exception of her leaving her boots off, and then she sat beside him until she saw him stirring slightly. She held his hand within hers and kissed him lightly as he woke up, causing him to smile at her action.

      James watched her sitting in front of him for a few minutes before he finally realised something. He cleared his throat and hoarsely whispered:

      "Where's Meowth?"

      "He's not allowed in this area in case his fur causes breathing problems for anyone I think. It's not just him, the rule affects all pokémon" 

      "I hate it here. I think the ground we sleep on is more comfortable than this so-called 'bed', I can't move properly because of the tight bandages and, to top it off, I'm stuck wearing this dress!"

      "It's not a dress, it's a gown which you have to wear just like everyone else here, we've slept in more uncomfortable places and we're getting free food and accommodation. You know as well as I do that we've been through worse"

      "I guess you're right, but I still hate it here. You know I've always been funny about these types of places"

      "It won't be for much longer, your leg isn't as badly damaged as it could've been. Besides, we _did_ get to sleep in the same room, so it wasn't that much further than normal, right?"

      "We _were_ pretty close last night, but I wish it was under different circumstances. What did you do with the rat?"

      "Put it in a spare pokéball. It looked about as happy with the concept as Meowth did"

      "Doesn't that technically mean that Pikachu is yours now?"

      "I never thought of it that way, but you're right! You must have some sort of influence over me, I'm feeling guilty at the mere thought of taking it"

      "Why are we feeling guilty lately?! It's like someone's given us a conscience or something- scary!"

      "It'll pass. How do you feel today?"

      "Sleepy, but I think that's because I'm so drugged up right now. At least I don't need to take anything else for another twenty minutes. Could you believe what the doctor said to us last night?!"

      "That was so embarrassing! Well, did I over-excite you last night?"

      "To be completely honest, I think it's me they should be worried about! You didn't mind me doing that to you did you?"

      "Nope, in fact, I'd have let you do whatever you wanted the way I felt last night. You have no idea how much you scared me yesterday. I thought I'd lose you"

      "I'm about as easy to lose as the stars in the sky. You know we do everything together, and that's one tradition I'll hopefully never break"

      "As long as you keep that promise, I don't think I'll have anything worth worrying about"

      He gently pulled her towards him and their lips met for the second time that morning. They were gradually getting more and more swept up in the moment when they heard the door creak open. They pulled apart when they heard the next comment the doctor had to say:

      "I thought I'd warned you about over-exciting him last night, miss"

      She abruptly sat back and rearranged her clothes as her cheeks changed from their regular pale colour to a deep red hue, and as a result she began to deliberately avoid eye contact with both of them. She told James that she wanted something to eat and that she'd be back in a short while, so she pulled her boots on and vacated the room.

      She went in to the nearest facilities she could find to fix her appearance properly; her make-up was non-existent, her clothes were creased after her last 'activity', and the bed hadn't done any favours for her hair. Five minutes later, she left as she was finally content with her general appearance.

      She went into the canteen and paid for a cheap, decent meal before sitting in a booth with an out looking window on her own. She watched the steady falling of rain, and the drizzle had a sort of hypnotic effect on her, and she found herself reflecting on some of the events that had happened to her over the past few days. She was still in disbelief that he hadn't told her anything about them being followed, but what really annoyed her was the way she'd been seen naked. She'd had a strong fear of strangers seeing her naked since she was still living at her 'home', and the fact that two people had seen her made unwanted memories flood back into her head…

      She finished her cold meal after dwelling on depressing memories for half an hour, and then she realised that she wasn't the only one there who needed feeding. She sprinted over to the balloon so she wouldn't become too wet and released all of the pokémon in her possession. Meowth hissed as he was released and asked her how their friend was doing. A grin spread from one side of her face to the other as she explained that he was going to be fine. Despite his detest of pet pokémon, Meowth started purring and rubbed against her legs in approval.

      She fed all of the pokémon and explained to Pikachu that it'd have to go into a pokéball again, but it didn't seem as bothered with the idea as it usually did when Ash requested it to. She rubbed Weezing on the top of its main head and assured it that its master would be all right; she would have done the same to Victreebel except she didn't think it would be too bothered whether or not it knew James' status.

      She waited for the downpour to cease, but just before she returned to the section James was in she saw a disgruntled looking trio in the far distance. She rushed off into the main building when the rain finally sub-sided. 

      The next time she saw him was at around twenty-five to twelve, but he seemed livelier than she had seen him in the last few hours. She greeted him in much the same manner as she normally did, which included their now-traditional kiss. She told him how their pokémon were, then groaned and told him that the twerps were also on their way. He imitated her groan, and then mischievously told her to report to headquarters whilst she still had the chance. She pretended to contemplate the idea, but refused it as it would mean leaving him behind. Although he didn't let it become apparent to her, what she'd said made him feel even more cheerful than he'd felt all day, just the mere knowledge that she wouldn't leave his side for money. It made him remember how he'd decided to leave his family's fortune for her, and how he'd said he'd done it for his freedom.

      Elsewhere…

      "I can't believe we still have to invade their privacy like this, what makes them think that they have to make those two go through more than what's just happened? Are you even listening to me?"

      "I'm beginning to think we shouldn't have listened to their offer. I can't think of any normal person who'd do anything like this out of 'love'. It nearly killed me what we had to do yesterday"

      "I was the one who had to hit him, remember? I couldn't get to sleep for ages last night; the sickening sound of wood on skull kept playing back in my brain"

      "I kept seeing me slit his skin like that. This job is really starting to disturb me, and you know how much **that** takes"

      "I wish we'd ignored him when he invited us back to his employers' house, but we were so hungry we just didn't listen"

      "That's what you get when you fail so often you look like members of the Jessie and James fan club. Just think about it, we used to be decent"

      "We used to treat other people humanely"

      "We never tried to kill someone"

      "We worried about one employer, not three"

      "We were happy with who we were. Now I feel like such a monster, a heartless ice-bitch. And I used to want to be one so badly"

      "Do you even know what section he's in? None of these signs point to where he might be, unless he's in St. Gabriel's maternity ward on the third floor"  
      "Doubt it. Hang on a second, see those kids there?"

      "Yeah. Why do they look vaguely familiar to me?"

      "I remember seeing them a good bit over the last few days, and I think I saw the small one's pikachu yesterday, with them. Do you think they'll visit him?"

      "I think we've just found the ticket to the end of our search. If we follow them, we'll find out where our 'targets' are. I hate that fucking word"

      "You're not the only one. Look, they've gone down that wing. Let's go"

      "So it's 39C is it? That made our job a hell of a lot easier anyway"

      "I can't see the logic in such a small town having such a large hospital do you? More seriously though, what if we go in there and it's not him?"

      "We'll try again later to be certain. We can't run the risk of being spotted in the middle of the day"

      "Want to get something to eat? I haven't eaten yet today because I was convinced I'd throw up if I did this morning"

      "Yeah, I'm hungry too. So, does this mean your feelings for Jessie have changed?"

      "No. She still makes me want to kill her, but I feel sympathetic towards her in the present circumstances"

      "Come on, we can talk over food. Right now I'm finding it hard to talk over my stomach!"

      Back in room 39C, Jessie and James had been in the middle of a major make-out session when the twerp trio had entered the room, causing more flushed faces for the older teens. Jessie fixed her upper clothing for the third time that day and mentally cursed everyone who stood before them. She tossed Ash the pokéball that contained Pikachu, and Ash traded it for an empty one in compensation. She couldn't help having the urge to remove their 'visitors' by any means necessary; she'd seen too much of them over the last few days and she wanted some time alone with James.

      Whatever people said Ash had, at that moment it certainly wasn't tact. There was an awkward silence for a few moments, so he thought he'd try and break it by saying:

      "So I hear you were involved in an accident"

      James glanced at his girlfriend as if to look for inspiration to answer such a stupid question, but she was too busy trying to stop herself from laughing. He refrained from using the sarcastic answers that rushed into his head, and instead opted to use a more civilised answer.

      "Not exactly. I wouldn't exactly call this an accident"

      "What do you mean?"

      "Let me think how to phrase this; I tend not to hit myself severely on the head, nor do I cut my skin open, and I certainly don't run through a forest until I jam my leg in a gin trap. Also, hospitals aren't my preferred mode of accommodation. Are you clear as to why this wasn't an accident yet?"

      "What actually happened to you?"

      "I was walking yesterday morning when two people attacked me and performed the aforementioned attacks on me. We decided to tell you to collect your pet in case there were anymore situations like that one"

      "Who did it?"

      "We're not entirely sure. In fact, I haven't got a clue who it could be"

      Ash seemed genuinely concerned by the matter, but what was worrying James at that moment was the way Brock was checking Jessie out. He sighed and looked at Misty, who had remained strangely quiet throughout the conversation. She avoided eye contact with him and mused:

      "I didn't think they had double beds in public places, least of all a hospital"

      There was no mistaking the icy tone in her voice as she said that remark, or the look of disgust that was clearly visible across her face when Jessie told her that she'd stayed there. All it did was further James' belief that jealousy was an ugly trait.

      Both of the rockets felt relief wash over them at twenty-past four when the doctor came in to give James his medication, meaning that the other three had to leave. Jessie was also told that there had been an explosion at the quarry causing an emergency status in the hospital, and then he went on to explain that the spare bed he'd given her would be required for the extra patients. She said she didn't mind, but inside it was killing her at the mere thought of not being near James when she would be going to sleep. She helped the doctor to remove the blankets and bed out of the room, and then she was finally able to have James to herself again.

      At half past seven, Jessie was asked to leave as normal visiting time was over, but they both could've sworn they had been together for twenty minutes or less. She gave him one final passion-filled kiss before getting up and leaving to see if she could find a cheap hotel. There was no way she was going to sleep out in the open in case they were still being followed, but she did stop off at their balloon to collect both her and James' bags. She called Meowth out of the pokéball for some company as she briskly walked along the streets in the biting wind. Luckily for them, they found a hotel which not only charged half of the price that they were expecting to pay, but it also allowed pokémon in the room itself.

       She opened the door and dropped her things on the ground just inside the doorframe. She checked their food supplies and only used products that had tamper-proof seals on them to make her meal in case they were contaminated in some way. She was still wary about where the poison in her boyfriend's system had originated and wasn't prepared to fall sick too. She fed the pokémon when she summoned up enough energy to do so, and then whilst they were busy eating she tidied away what she'd used in the kitchen.

      She collapsed into the chair again, feeling physically exhausted after the stress she'd been through over the past twenty-four hours. Meowth jumped up and sat beside her and talked to her about how James was. She told him that he was in better condition than he had been the day before, but she could tell he was putting on an act when she asked him if he could feel any pain. She'd seen him flinch every time he'd tried to sit in a different position in the bed when they'd just been talking. After one yawn and slow blinks too many, she turned off the lights and told Meowth she was going to bed.

      The room to 39C opened quietly in the early hours of Thursday morning, and two figures silently approached the figure in the hospital bed. The male intruder looked at his partner as if to acknowledge the fact that the kids had saved them a lot of time and bother, but she didn't meet his look. In fact, she hadn't taken her eyes off the sleeping figure since they'd entered the room. She walked over to him and studied his facial features for a few minutes and deduced that his body was still heavily drugged from all the medication he'd been receiving, before finally whispering:

      "We nearly killed him yesterday. Would the bonus really have been worth it if we had succeeded?"

      She didn't receive an answer, but she knew he was thinking along the same lines as she was. She leaned down and gently kissed him on his lips as a sort of apology before turning to exit the room. As much as she needed the money, the only reason she remained on that assignment was because she was afraid what their employers would do to her if she resigned from it. They exited with the same stealth they had made their entrance with, not that it really mattered as there were only two security guards on duty, neither of which were anywhere near the route they would take before stealing into the night.


	7. September 7th, 2000

                              Thursday, September 7th 2000.

      Jessie gradually re-entered the world of the living after a long, dreamless sleep. Although it made her ecstatic beyond belief that James was going to be alright, she felt that she didn't deserve a good night's rest with the knowledge that his attackers were still out there somewhere. She lay back on her bed for a while whilst she had some time to herself to reflect on how things had gone downhill in her new relationship since she'd had the most unbelievable night of her life. She now understood why he had deliberately killed some of her advances towards him for a repeat session, but it still didn't make her feel entirely satisfied about the situation.

      The time was well past nine by the time she emerged from the room, but she still felt like she needed cheering up so she ran a shower for herself; it was rarely that she ever got to sleep somewhere which was dry, let alone comfortable, but it had been even longer since she'd had the chance to unwind properly. Her preferred method of doing so had always been a shower, so she decided that she might as well take advantage of the facilities that lay before her.

      James rubbed his eyes with the back of his palm to take away the strong urge he had to go back to sleep, but with his aging doctor due to deliver his medication within the next fifteen minutes, he knew that he wouldn't have enough time to get a sufficient rest. He was glad that his willpower was as strong as it was, as the doctor entered his room a couple of minutes later. 

      He went through his standard check up before he was given the correct medicine he was due to take at that time. It was far from the highlight of his day, but then again he had always detested taking tablets of any sort. He barely received two words out of his usually friendly doctor until he turned to leave. The wizened man glanced back over his shoulder and curtly said:

      "Your girlfriend is not welcome here in the middle of the night. This is a place for people who need to recover from whatever might be wrong with them, not a place where she can wander in and out of whenever she feels like it"

      "What do you mean? You saw her leave yesterday after you told her to"

      "I know she was here in the night, even if you don't"

      "I have no idea whatsoever what you mean by that. Jessie left when you asked her to and I haven't seen her since"

      "If you'll excuse me sir, I have other patients and matters to attend to. Just make sure she gets the message"

      James maladroitly sat up in the bed, confused beyond belief at what the doctor had said to him. As much as he'd loved the idea that Jessie had visited him in the middle of the night, he found the possibility of that actually happening as likely as Meowth announcing it was in love with his Growlithe. What perplexed him further was that there was no evidence of anyone having even been in the room, let alone Jessie, so what was the basis for the doctor's theory?

      Jessie stepped out of the shower and the first thing she did was dry the soaked locket which she refused to take off, seeing that the feel of wet metal against her skin irritated her beyond belief. She had just begun to dry herself off properly when she heard a knock on the hotel room's door. She grabbed her bathrobe and hurriedly put it on before she opened the door, unsure who it might be or what it was they wanted. It turned out to be someone she hadn't expected to see-Brock.

      The look of astonishment was mirrored on his face and when she asked him what he wanted, he explained that he'd run short on tea and he wanted to know if she had any to spare. She invited him in out of the doorway whilst she got the spare tea for him out of her bag in the bedroom, fully aware that he watched her as she took each step. She felt even more embarrassed about the matter than she normally would have done in that sort of situation as she could feel the material stick to her still-wet skin.

      She found what she was searching for almost straightaway, so she exited the room with the nearly empty box in her hand. She gave it to him and tried her hardest to ignore him mentally separating the sides of her bathrobe. She folded her arms to eliminate any chance of exposing her chest and talked to him as an old friend would, which surprised her. She told him as much as she felt comfortable saying about James' attack, even if it caused her cheeks to flush beyond belief as she explained what the note had said. He also looked shocked by it, but whether the reaction was due to the threat or if it was due to the content of the note, only he could say.

      After five further minutes of their unexpected conversation, Brock decide that he'd better return to his friends before he required a bullet-proof outfit to re-enter the room. She bode him farewell and went back into the bathroom to finish drying off and put some fresh clothes on.

      James was considering calling back the doctor to explain his theses when he remembered that there were also people in a critical state in that wing. The last thing they'd need to hear in their condition would be the sound of his voice calling for a doctor who probably wasn't even responsible for them, plus the fact that there was a chance that he wasn't even in that sector of the hospital.

      He had been dwelling on the issue for almost twenty minutes before he was jolted out of his thoughts by the door opening. He was relieved to see his girlfriend, but became even more confounded when she leant down to kiss him and pulled back abruptly before she did. She looked coldly into his eyes and quietly whispered:

      "Care to explain yourself?"

      "What's wrong honey?"  
      "Don't you dare 'honey' me"  
      "What have I done wrong? If I did do something to irritate you, I honestly haven't got the slightest idea what I'm supposed to have done"

      He could clearly see the hurt in her eyes, but no matter how hard he thought about it he couldn't figure out what he could have done to annoy her since the last time they'd seen each other. He knew he couldn't be blamed for anything she'd done the night before, but he still felt like he should be sorry for something from the way she glared at him. He felt uneasy as he saw her flinch when he touched her upper arm and gently asked her what was wrong. Her eyes became tear-brimmed as she heard him talking to her, and cursed to herself as she realised that the threatening tears were becoming more difficult to keep back. She knew that if she stayed there for much longer she'd end up breaking down in front of him, and at that moment she had no desire to let him see her vulnerability. She bit her lip to compose herself briefly, and then stood up and quickly shouted 'Bastard!' at him before storming out of the room.

      James had no idea what he could have possibly done to make her hate him like that, and found that no matter how hard he racked his brain the results were still unrewarding. She had cut him deeply by her actions whether or not she actually realised that, but what pained him the most was how he had no idea what had triggered her off.

      Once Jessie had reached her hotel room again, she collapsed on the bed and cried for all she was worth. Meowth jumped up beside her to comfort her, but whenever she tried to say anything it was too difficult to decipher. As much as he detested being treated like a pet, he allowed Jessie to stroke him, as it seemed to have a calming effect on her. Once she'd worn herself out completely she drifted off to sleep, leaving many questions from both of her companions in her wake.

      Meowth waited until he was certain that she wasn't going to wake up anytime soon, he cautiously jumped down off the bed and went over to the kitchen window, which luckily for him had been left slightly open. He sauntered out effortlessly, and then preceded to go down to the hospital using the route he remembered returning from the night before. 

      He evaded being seen by any employers at the reception desk and tried his hardest to stealthily find the section that Jessie had told him James was in. He found it without any great difficulty, but he suddenly realised that he had no real way of getting into the room since he was too short. He had barely been thinking how he could get to the window from the outside without being sighted when he saw a doctor entering the room he wanted to enter. He dashed after the doctor and dove under the bed before anyone could see him, let alone be given the chance to work out what had happened.

      James could have sworn he'd seen something out of the corner of his eye, but didn't make his sense of surprise noticeable to the doctor, whom he still held in contempt.  He failed to say anything to him; mainly because he resented the way he'd been treated earlier, but also because of the way Jessie had left him without leaving him with a clear reason as to why he had managed to upset her. Once the doctor had left, James sighed and wished he could figure out what he had done to piss Jessie off; it was really beginning to make him feel paranoid at this point. His thoughts were disturbed yet again when he saw something move out of the corner, and this time there was no chance that he was imagining it.

      Meowth jumped up on the bed beside his injured companion, and James failed to miss the look of shock on Meowth's face as he saw him. Although he tried his hardest to keep any sign of disbelief becoming visible on his face, it was unmistakable when he asked him how he was. Unwilling to participate in another conversation without knowing what was making people act differently around him, he asked Meowth directly why his attitude had changed since he'd sat beside him, but he was unable to truthfully say that he would have ever suspected what it was.

      "Are you positive you don't know?"

      "Yes, and I want to know what I've done to annoy Jessie"

      Meowth sighed despondently before tossing James a small mirror that lay on the bedside chest of drawers. James caught it as a thousand possibilities flooded his head as to what it could be, but gasped in incredulity as he saw what was causing everyone to act differently: there was a faint trace of lipstick on his lips. Not noticeable enough to see from the opposite end of the room, but easily seen if you were:

a) A girlfriend who was always paranoid when it came to new relationships

b) A doctor who worked very close to his face during his check-ups

c) A small feline with a keen sense of vision, which meant there would be no problem with spotting it for him.

      James swore loudly after rubbing the offending pigment away with the back of his hand when he realised how Jessie must have felt upon seeing it. He knew that the creeps who were following him were somewhere in the area, which not only terrified him at the mere thought of it, but it also scared him when he realised that the colour looked vaguely familiar to him, the only problem was that he couldn't place where exactly it was that he'd seen it.

      Although he knew he shouldn't try it for his own health, he got up regardless and asked Meowth to use his claws to cut the cast open, who reluctantly obliged. He shakily stood up, and his facial features twisted in excruciating pain as he tenderly applied some force on his leg, but he defiantly kept moving to try and sort the problem out as soon as possible. He bit his lip to try and stop himself from crying out in pain again, but no matter how sore it was he refused to look at the wounds on his leg, as he knew it would only sicken him further. He felt weak enough as it was, merely by looking at the blood and tears on his trousers and had a strong inkling that he'd either throw up or black out for the infinite time that week.

      Meowth stared at him in disbelief as he struggled to pull his clothes on; he knew that James wouldn't be able to rest until everything between him and Jessie were perfect once more, but in his opinion it was just plain ridiculous to go from bed-ridden to dressing within the same five minutes. Although James had found the task difficult to complete, he eventually was dressed in the blood-covered clothes he had been admitted in, which both of them found unappealing. He practiced walking around the room for roughly twenty minutes before they opened the door to check if anyone could see them, and when they saw that the coast was clear they exited easily. As if they were going to pay the medical bill that was bound to be sky high!

      James collapsed out of exhaustion when they arrived at the balloon as their scam had been physically draining for him, to say the least. They remained there until James felt regenerated enough for them to continue to Jessie's hotel room, but it was also to verify that no-one would notice his disappearance right away. Unfortunately, his absence didn't go entirely unnoticed.

      In the hospital cafeteria…

      She sighed and blew the steam away from her coffee absent-mindedly, too thoroughly distracted with her thoughts to be concerned with anything else. The last few days had been straining to say the least, but it was the fact that she had been prepared to literally kill for some money that bothered her. She glanced at the scenery that lay on the opposite side of the window in a cavalier manner, and then her eyes widened as she saw her target escaping with Meowth. She blinked again to focus her vision, and then nudged her partner in his ribs to give him the same surprising knowledge. They didn't change their position immediately, but left the building when they saw both person and pokémon set off once again to save them wasting time looking for them later.

      As much pain as it was causing James, he followed Meowth to the hotel where Jessie was staying at a fairly fast pace, eager to sort the mess out. He knew the evidence against him was overwhelming, but he hoped that his honesty would count for something. They walked past reception without being stopped for a key-check or anything, which caused both Meowth and James to wonder what security measures Ebony town actually had. He paused for a moment before knocking on the door in question, partially to rest his aching leg, but mainly because he didn't know what he was going to say to her to make her see that he was telling the truth. Finally, he exhaled deeply and knocked on the door.

      Jessie gradually opened her eyes, taking a few moments to register where she was and why she'd fallen asleep in her clothes, but she felt fresh salty tears sting her tired eyes when she remembered the situation. She could have sworn that she had heard something, and her thoughts were quickly verified when she heard a more insistent knock on the door. She angrily rubbed away the tears with her fist before going to answer the door, unwilling to let the twerps see her in a vulnerable moment. She released a small gasp in surprise when she saw who it was, and after whispering his name softly to herself, she growled out:

      "What do you want? Shouldn't you be lying down waiting for your 'girlfriend' to visit you?"

      "My only girlfriend is standing in front of me right now. If I didn't want to stay with you, don't you think I would have done something about it after the first threat we received?"

      "I have no idea why you thought you could get away with it, but you can't screw me over like that. Who was she anyway?"

      "I didn't screw you over, regardless of what you believe. I don't know whom it was who did this, in fact I didn't even know about it until Meowth came down after you stormed off like that"

      "Save it for someone who cares. We hadn't even been going out for a whole week and you already got fed up with me, wouldn't you be angry too?"

      "I would be if you had cheated on me, but I swear I didn't do anything. It must have happened last night because the doctor had a go at me for letting you in after visiting hours. I should have asked him to explain what he meant by that, but I thought he was just jealous of you or something. Do you really think if I had no interest in you as a girlfriend that I'd come looking for you after you tried to kill me?"

      His last words stung her when he mentioned how she had first reacted to his advances, and although she knew deep in her heart that what he was saying held truth in it, she still wasn't prepared to forgive him right away. She could clearly see the hurt in his eyes as he waited for any kind of response from her, so she decided that the least she could do was let them finish their argument in her room as they were causing a crowd to gather in the corridor. She told him to come in and shut the door sharply, as if to tell the strangers to mind their own business.

      She felt sickened as she saw the hindrance in his walk, and even though she was angry with him, she had no intentions of crippling him and so told him to sit down. It was only then that she realised that he was wearing his bloodied and torn uniform; she hadn't looked anywhere past his face when she had argued with him. He flinched as he sat down; she was making him feel guilty, even though he knew that he hadn't directly done anything wrong. He could see more tears filling up in her eyes, an action that he involuntary mimicked. He knew she was hurt and after a couple of seconds, she refused to look at him directly in his eyes, for she knew she'd break down completely if she did.

      She momentarily left the room and returned with his bag before telling him to put some decent clothes on. He thanked her and began to change where he was purely out of habit. He felt aghast when he saw the extensive damage the trap had done to his leg, and he also realised that he wasn't the only one looking at it. Both Jessie and Meowth had the same kind of expression on their faces when they saw the six angry reddish-purple puncture wounds along his calf. Four of them didn't appear to be too deep, but there were two larger marks on the back of his leg where the trap had twisted as Jessie had separated the rusty jaws.

      He struggled as he pulled a different pair of jeans on, but he somehow managed to do it without cursing too much. He stood up to close the button above his zipper, but somehow lost his balance as he did so, causing him to fall forward. Unable to see her friend in any form of pain, Jessie rushed forwards and caught him before he landed wrongly on his leg, thus revealing that she still cared even though she was angry with him. A simple glance into James' eyes showed more than just gratitude to Jessie; it also showed he understood that she believed him, although it had yet to be expressed in words. She helped him back onto the couch, but they failed to resume their fight although the tears lingered in their eyes. Meowth sprung up and curled up on James' lap to show that he had been missed by both of them.

      The young couple waited until Meowth had purred himself to sleep before even considering talking about their problem. James turned to his girlfriend and whispered:

      "I swear I didn't do anything to hurt you. I honestly didn't know anyone had been in, not to mention the surprise I felt when I found out that someone kissed me. Do you honestly think if I was going to cheat on you that I'd make sure that there was evidence of it happening? You know that first of all, I care too much to do something like this so soon after finally getting with you, and second of all that's not my style. I can't offer you anything other than that, which is the truth"

      "It still hurts. I believe you, but just imagine if the roles had been reversed. Imagine if I'd nearly died, and then a couple of days after finding out that I'd kept important information from you, you visit me and find the unmistakable scent of cologne when you go to kiss me. I know you didn't want for this to happen, but it still makes my blood boil at the mere thought of another woman going near you. Or at least I hope it's a woman"

      "That's disgusting! Imagine if my former cross-dressing ways have rubbed off on the twerps. It might be Misty trying her hardest to look like a woman"

      "It would take a miracle for her to look distinctly feminine. Even you look better in drag than she does"

      "Just for that, I hope you get a mental image of me in drag every time you think of us together in the cave. But all the same, that's a problem you've never had to face, especially now"

      Jessie flashed him a grin and kissed him off his guard for his last compliment, causing him to wait a couple of seconds before responding properly. They became swept up in the action as they held a lot of unreleased tension from their previous tussle, which hindered their ability of self-control. They weren't the only ones aware of their actions, as when they were becoming uncontrollable they heard:

      "Me-oof! Why is Meowth being squished?! I'm glad you guys are back on 'talking' terms again, but is it really necessary to kill me in the process?"

      Jessie pulled back a bit and whispered some form of apology to Meowth without removing her gaze from James' eyes, and after one final kiss they reluctantly separated to give Meowth some much-needed breathing space. It was only at this point that Jessie realised something important which hadn't even crossed her mind over the last hour.

      "James?"  
      "Yeah?"

      "What were the fees like by the time you were discharged?"  
      "Fees?"

      "Yes, that's what I said"

      "Discharged?"

      "Oh no, don't tell me you went out here without permission. Do you **want** to destroy your leg?"

      "I'll live. Besides, you know that we need what little money we have, so we might as well cut a few payments here and there for us to have enough to live on. I think we did quite well actually, if you think about it. We didn't have to pay for accommodation or food for one of the nights, I didn't take any of our rations and I got free medical treatment. Would you rather do that, or ask Giovanni for _another_ advance on our salaries?"

      "I have no problem with the whole money scam, it's your health I'm worried about. Can you think of the damage you might have just done to it? Not to mention how much pain you'll be in when your anaesthetic completely wears off?"

      "The pain I can deal with, but after the way you left I didn't think I'd see you again. Imagine how much that would have hurt"

      "Will you at least be careful? If you aren't, then I'll make you eat my cooking for the rest of your life!"

      "Speaking of cooking, is there any chance of you making me something to eat? I haven't had actually eaten anything in days, and without the drip I feel really hungry for some reason"

      "You actually _want_ me to cook?! That's a first anyway!"

      "I know it sounds like a foreign concept, but I can't cook like this and I don't think it'd be a good idea to let Meowth cook"

      "I resent that!"

      "Think about it, you'd not only drop bits of your fur into the food, but you'd also singe your whiskers if you were that close to boiling water"

      "Phrase it better next time"

      "I'm sorry. Will you please make some dinner Jess?"

      "I guess so. Do you want anything in particular?"

      "Have you bought any new supplies yet? I don't particularly want to go back to hospital with a toxin other than food poisoning"

      "You'll be going back seriously injured if I hear another remark about my cooking! I haven't had the chance to do any shopping yet, so will I just make whatever I can find?"

      "I don't mind as long as it's remotely edible. Thanks"

      She kissed him lightly on his lips before going into the bedroom to see what food they actually had left. She grabbed all of the unopened products that she thought she could make a decent meal out of before heading into the kitchen to put her culinary skills to the test. Meowth waited until he was sure Jessie couldn't hear him before saying to James in a hushed voice:

      "I'm going to go back later this evening to see if I can see anything which might hold some evidence about who did this, but don't tell Jessie or else she'll want to go too"

      "Are you sure you want to risk it? I know the security systems were pretty lax, but there's still the chance you could get caught"

      "This whole thing is spooking me out too, you know. Jessie isn't the only one who'd miss you if you were gone"

      "I know Meowth, but do you think it's necessary to risk your life for me? We don't know what they'd do if they found a pokémon wandering the wards if it specifically stated that they were forbidden. Besides, there's the whole door problem"

      "I can manage, and if I'm seen, I'm pretty sure I can escape before the guards realise I'm there"

      "It seems that you'd be running a lot of risks. Do you really think it's worth the effort?"

      "I'm going to try at least, and if I find myself in a situation I can't get out of, well, I'll cross that bridge when I come to it"

      "I know you really want to do this, but what's the point of risking losing a friend over something that can't be changed? I don't like this any more than you do, in fact I think I hate it even more because most of this stuff has happened to me, but I don't want you to risk yourself over it. I know I can't stop you if it's what you really want to do, but just please don't take too many risks"

      "I won't. Shouldn't you be glad to have a hotel room to yourselves for an evening?"

      "I've told you before, I don't see Jessie as a sex toy. In fact, I can't do anything with her as much as I want to. Just think of the location of the stab-wound alone"

      "I guess that could present a few problems, but you can at least talk to her alone if nothing else. Perhaps you can come up with a plausible excuse to tell Giovanni in three days as to why, yet again, we have nothing worth offering bar our expenses reports"

      "It's only three days away?! I thought we had longer than that"

      "Longer than that for what?"  
      Jessie entered the room with a meal for each of them and James quickly reminded her that it was nearly the time of the month where they were due to report back in at headquarters for their salaries. As much as they used to enjoy it when they had a good reputation, now it was just depressing to hand up incomplete assignments each month. Each month a member failed to capture anything new, their salaries were cut by 5%. It mightn't sound like much to most people, but now their wages were nearly half of what they had been given when they first became successful.

      Elsewhere…

      "So you're certain that this is where they're staying?"

      "Pretty damn sure. But did we really have to disguise ourselves to this extent?"

      "We can't risk them discovering us. It's you that they'd recognise more easily anyway, since you went out with him. Also, just keep in mind that the black will come out of your hair in the next wash, just like the brown will come out of mine. Pity it doesn't match our eyebrows all the same"

      "Let's just get off this street okay? I feel embarrassed enough in this outfit as it is, without the added discomforts of letting people see me not just in thin cotton, but in pink of all colours. I'll kill you if you ever pick our costumes again"  
      "It makes you look cute. Besides, if we'd both worn black and white, it would have made us look like a pair of reject mimes from a carnival"

      "It would still be better than **pink**!"

      "Look on the bright side, your jeans are fine"

      "C'mon, lets get a room in the hotel so we can just relax for a while"

      "Whatever. I'm so tired I could collapse right here"

      "Don't even think about it, you're paying for this"

      "Why do I have to pay?"

      "_You_ accepted this job, _you _made me wear this awful outfit, and so _you_ will pay for the room. It's payback for all the little things you decide and I have no choice in how things are done. Did you remember your fake ID?"

      "Naturally"

      He paid at reception and they were asked to hold on for a moment as the receptionist went into the room at the back to answer a private phone call. She glanced at her partner as if to say 'Has this town ever heard of security?' before she grabbed the list of rooms and their occupants. His mouth twisted itself into a self-satisfied smile before saying:

      "Looks like we're next door neighbours. That saves us the effort of knocking each door until we find the right one"

      "Just think, if the walls are as thin as security is in this town, we won't have to do as much work until they clear out of this place. We'll finally have the chance to recover from all the driving we've done over the last few days"

      "You're certainly starting to sound more optimistic by the minute. We'll have to be careful though, if we can hear them, it means that they can hear us. Quick, put it down, she's coming back"

      Later that night Meowth left as intended, saying that he was just going to see if there was anything worth hunting as his excuse, and it didn't take Jessie long to take advantage of the situation. She helped James over to the bed and began to kiss him passionately, although she knew that they couldn't do anything serious because of his lacerations. They enjoyed what they could do without James not being in pain, and they wound up sleeping naked beside each other in the single bed.

      Meowth returned to the room long after dawn and curled up on the couch on his own to get some rest after his night in the town. Although he hadn't been able to get into the camera room, he had been able to pick the lock on a filing cabinet that held James' medical information, thus providing him with the names of the medication he needed to treat his lesions correctly.

      Whereas Meowth had failed to get into the camera room, two shrouded figures took out each of the security cameras they passed before entering it easily. They felt more than a little taken-aback when they saw that not only had the door a normal lock on it, there were no people inside the room monitoring the situation of the various wards. They emptied out all of the storage crates until they found the box that held footage of the 'visitation' they had made during the previous night. They smashed the cassettes and exposed the entire reel of recording before anyone could trace the incident back to them. The mere threat of Meowth stealing the cassettes had been too risky for them; if their targets had seen even a second of that footage, then their identities would be known and the roles could easily be reversed…


	8. September 8th, 2000

                               Friday, September 8th 2000. 

      Haunting images of what had happened over the last week invaded James' head all night long, and just to add insult to injury, he jolted awake at twenty past five with shooting pains searing up his leg. He gently rubbed the sore area until the pain was less intense, feeling pretty annoyed that he was wide awake, but in a way he was also relieved as he had been spared from more visions of his attack. The stab wound on his hip was beginning to hurt from the way he was sitting so he decided to lie down again without waking Jessie up. He succeeded in doing so and became enthralled with her easy breathing. He fought against the sudden urge he had to touch Jessie in any way; the sight of her made him want her more than he had since before he'd slept with her, but he knew it would just be selfish to wake her up for his own purposes. There was also the added fact that the position of his stab-wound would present a few undesirable problems if he did go through with it. He knew that he shouldn't even be looking at her naked without her knowledge, but the temptation was just too great and he couldn't stop himself from doing it.

      Boredom eventually swept over him at a little after six o' clock, and so he decided to get up as he was becoming stiff due to the position he was lying in. He circumspectly slid out of the bed without waking his girlfriend up and he pulled on some clean clothes whilst he was alone. Although he'd never willingly admit it, he had felt self-conscious when he'd put his trousers on in front of his companions the day before. The way he found it difficult to dress himself after his attack made him feel low as it made him think that he was incompetent when it came to looking after himself. It also made him feel pathetic when he realised that he couldn't even cook for them for a while. It wasn't that Jessie was an atrocious cook; it was one of his favourite pastimes and he felt pleased when he thought that at least his friends could rely on that, regardless of whatever situation they were in. Now that he wouldn't be able to do that for a while, it made him feel like a part of him was missing. He shook the feeling away as best he could and silently left the room to see if he could make himself a cup of coffee without collapsing.

      The hindrance in his leg was irritating to say the least, but he felt like getting his eyes tested when he tripped over Arbok, who had settled on sleeping just inside the entrance to the cooking area. He landed on his back, but he was too scared to make a sound as he discovered that Arbok didn't like being stepped on in the early hours of the morning. It flared its hood up and it hissed dangerously close to James' face, as it was unable to distinguish whom it was. It lowered its head until its eyes were transfixing James', trying to receive a distinguishable scent before launching an attack. Unluckily for James, not only was he disguising his scent with fear, but also there was an unmistakable aroma of Jessie on him, yet Arbok knew for certain that it wasn't her. The scent of fresh sweat and dried blood, which mingled with the creams that had been applied to his wounds during his stay at the hospital overwhelmed James' own scent, thus making him unrecognisable to the angry snake. New senses of fear swept over James as he felt Arbok's powerful coils slowly entwine his body, clearly seeing him as a threat to its owner's safety. He called out to Meowth as he felt the air being squeezed out of him and luckily his cry was heard.

      Meowth bounded over to where the commotion was and scratched Arbok across the face to startle it, averse to try and approach it slowly in case it bit him whilst it was this worked up. Meowth hissed at it with his ears well folded back and explained whom it was that it was attacking. After one final squeeze, Arbok uncoiled itself and slithered away to another dark corner to resume its resting. Meowth made his appearance look remotely normal and licked his fur a bit to try and flatten the upright hairs that were all over his body. He turned to his male comrade and asked him if he was all right, but he didn't receive an answer as the shock was still surfacing in James. He realised that if Meowth hadn't heard him, then there was a good chance his ribcage could have been crushed and no one would have known until they wanted something to eat. He was experiencing great difficulty in just breathing, but that was understandable given the circumstances. In the end, James just got himself comfortable in the position he was in and refused to go out and sit on the couch, even though he knew that no good would probably come from it.

      Jessie woke up alone at half nine and the first thing that entered her head was where James could be. After yesterday's performance she knew that he hadn't left her, but it was unnerving to say the least that he had managed to leave without her noticing anything. She hurriedly pulled on some clothes and left the bedroom to find where her lover was. She saw Arbok curled up beside the entrance to the bathroom with a couple of scratch marks on its face, which mystified her even more. She saw Meowth's tail and went over to investigate what had happened between them, and when she asked what Meowth had done to it, he replied:

      "A lot less than what I should have done"

      "Why did it deserve to have anything done to it, let alone something more than scratching?"

      "Ask your boyfriend"

      "James? Do you think it deserved scratching?"  
      "The way I feel right now, I'd send it to Team Rocket's medical section to find a cure for AIDS or something"

      "What did Arbok do to make you want it experimented on? It's not like you to say anything like that, or at least not about one of our own"

      "I don't really mean what I said, I'm just angry with it right now"

      "Will someone **please** tell me what's going on? You're both starting to scare me"

      Silence filled the room for a few moments before Meowth decided to put an end to it. He exhaled deeply and said:

      "I woke up this morning to James calling for help. Arbok was trying to crush his ribcage"

      "No way! Arbok wouldn't do anything like that to you­­, otherwise it would have done so years ago"

      "You're right honey, we thought it would be really funny to make something like that up, and then enjoy hurting Arbok even though I know exactly how it feels like to be hurt by someone purely for fun"

      "I can't believe this actually happened. How do you feel now?"

      "Claustrophobic. I hated the way it flattened the air out of me, it was nothing short of terrifying. All that was running through my head was 'what if Meowth didn't hear me?' It didn't take long for the next thought to approach 'what if Jessie found me first?'"

      "When did this happen?"

      "Some time after six, although I'm not entirely sure when. I woke up early and was stiff so I decided to make some coffee, but I somehow managed to trip over Arbok and it threatened me"

      "If you were awake, you should have woken me up"

      "I didn't see the point in having us both lose sleep needlessly. Besides, you seemed to be in a deep enough sleep when I woke up, which made me reluctant to wake you"

      "Do you really think that I would have minded if you'd woken me up? I would have made you a coffee, or even done anything you wanted me to"

      "I guess not, but it just isn't my style. It wasn't as if this was expected or anything, now is it?"

      "By the way James, I went down to the hospital last night as intended and got your medical record. It has the names of the creams and pills you need to take"

      "Thanks Meowth. I presume nobody saw you?"

      "Nope, but I'd say that whoever was in the security room might have seen me. Even if they did, they didn't follow me or anything, which is fairly obvious as I'm still here"

      "Why didn't you tell me that you were going Meowth?"

      "If I had told you, then I don't think you would have stayed here. James could hardly go in case we needed to make a fast getaway, and how fair do you think it would be if he was left here on his own?"

      "I still can't believe that neither of you told me. Imagine if you hadn't been back this morning when this happened"

      "You can't live your life with 'what ifs'. We all make choices and since none of us expected this as James said, there's no point in thinking what might have happened under different circumstances. He's all right, and as far as I'm concerned that's the most important thing"

      "You call this all right? I've been nearly killed three times over the last fortnight"

      "When was the…never mind"

      "Yes, I am counting you in that Jessie, although I do know you had no desire to kill me. At least I hope so!"

      "You know I wouldn't do it if I was given the chance again, how can I convince you of that?"

      "You already have. Do you think I'd still be here if you truly wanted me out of your life?"

      "I guess not"

      "Exactly. I love you, even after what you did, and I want to make sure you know that. What can I do to prove it?"

      "For starters, you could get off the floor before you destroy that leg, and secondly you can tell me what you want and I'll do or get it for you"

      "Will you feed the pokémon this morning? I don't particularly fancy the thought of seeing Arbok again, or at least not just yet. Additionally, can you help me to stand up? My legs appear to have gone asleep!"

      "Sure thing. Anything else?"

      "Maybe a kiss would help. I think it's worth experimenting anyway"

      "Don't tell me it's going to be another of _those _days"

      "What's one of those days"  
      "Where you two are all lovey-dovey. It's nauseating to say the least"

      "Thanks a lot! I suppose we'll leave it this once, but only because you risked your life trying to get James the medical record. I suggest that we have breakfast before we put Meowth off his food. Be warned, it will be my cooking again"

      "Death by watching you two coo over each other, or death by eating something you've cooked again. Decisions, decisions"

      "Nobody's forcing you to look at us, nor are you required to eat her cooking. However, if you wait a little while, Jessie could pick up something from a takeaway when she's getting the medicine. Would you prefer that?"

      "As long as she has no objections, that's fine with me"

      "If it means that I don't have to cook, well then I'm all for it. Is that what you want too, honey?"

      "It's fine with me, in fact the only thing I really want right now is some sleep. I think the shock must have finally set in"

      "I'll put Arbok in its pokéball so you don't have to worry about it before I get back. Just go back to bed and I'll have breakfast for you when you're fully rested"

      "Sounds great to me. Do I still get a kiss?"  
      "Not this again!"

      "Ignore the cat. I think I deserve one after this morning, don't you?"

      "As you wish"

      "I'll be throwing up if you need me"

      Meowth turned and left the young couple alone to give them some time together, deciding that he needed to rest for a while also. After all, he had been out late and woken up a few hours earlier than he had intended, and if the truth were to be told, he wasn't as young as he used to be. Since Jessie and James assumed that they had some time to themselves for the first time, they decided to take full advantage of it and fondled each other without any sense of discretion. For once, they were absolutely certain that they weren't being watched, as there was nowhere where they could be watched from without being visible. On the other hand, being heard is an entirely different matter…

      She yawned and brushed the troublesome black strand of hair away from her exhausted eyes before greeting her partner as he left his bedroom. He grunted in response before saying:

      "What time were we back at last night? I feel like the last time I slept was about three years ago"

      "We got back at roughly half two, and I'm actually glad that I got less sleep than you did for once. You missed an unexpected occurrence"

      "What did I miss, apart from six hours sleep?"

      "I woke up early, and I was just wondering what had caused it when I heard it again. Apparently Jessie's snake-type pokémon tried to kill our subject, and Meowth had to save our poor unfortunate James."

      "Seriously?! It would have been funny if it had eaten Meowth"

      "I don't care if we're supposed to remain unseen by them, but there's nothing in this world that could stop me from seeing Arbok slithering around with a Meowth-shape clearly visible"

      "That would be classic!"

      "Still, it's a pity that the incident didn't happen when they were in the forest so we could have seen it for ourselves, huh?"

      "We'll eventually be the ones to see him when he learns his lesson. I know what you mean about missing it happen, it would have lasted as a source of amusement for at least a week. So how come you no longer feel guilty about this job?"

      "We're stuck here regardless of how I feel about it, so I might as well forget that I know these people. Besides, it's not like we've killed him or anything, at least not yet. I certainly hope it won't amount to that anyway"

      "So do I. I might resent him for being that close to Jessie, but there's no point in being jealous of a dead man. Plus there's the fact that I'd like to think that we won't have to stoop to the level of murder for some money"

      "What do you want for breakfast? I don't want anything, as I'm still too tired to be hungry, so it's your call this time"  
      "I'm not hungry either, do you want to just buy something later in the town if we're hungry?"

      "That's fine with me. One more thing, I'm definitely not wearing pink today. If it's essential, well then I'm just not going to leave here"

      "You can leave the pink for today, but the hair colour stays. I want to wash it out of my hair too, it's making it stick together in clumps no matter how often I comb it"

      "Serves you right for picking my costume out yesterday. At least you didn't dye it blonde, think of what it would look like once it was washed out and the bleach remained"

      "About as nice as your hair will look if the black doesn't disappear in the first wash, not that mine will look spectacular if the same thing happens to me"

      "What do you suppose the next stage is? As long as it's nowhere near as repulsive as Stage Two, I don't think I'll have a problem with it"

      "I guess we'll find out when we call later. She's one heck of a psychopath all the same"

      "Yeah, you'd swear she was his ex- or something"

      Roughly ten feet to their left…

      Jessie pulled away from James for a much-needed air-break when she decided that it was about time that she got the right medication for her lover. She had always hated to see him in any form of pain, but to see him drastically injured since he had started going out with her made her feel even worse, as if she felt that it was her fault that he had been attacked. In fact, she had no idea whether or not the two were associated in any way, let alone who it was that was behind the assaults that had happened to him. They shared one brief, final kiss before she turned around and grabbed her pokéball from the sideboard. She picked up the folder and took out the medicinal information out of the record after calling Arbok back into its ball and left the hotel room with both objects in her possession.

      She returned three and a half hours later with the correct cream and tablets, and she had also had the sense to pick up some groceries whilst she was shopping, still too worried about James' poisoning to risk using any products which held a possibility of being contaminated. Whereas she had been worrying about being out so late without either of her friends having the ability of being able to cook for something for them to eat, it turned out that they had both fallen asleep on the couch in her absence, which was completely understandable, given the circumstances. She silently unpacked the shopping so as not to disturb her partners, and then out of interest, she read James' completed medical record. She assumed that the workers at the hospital had contacted a larger hospital for the information, as there was quite a lot in his history that she either didn't remember, which she doubted, or he had never mentioned it.

      Her friends eventually woke up roughly around the same time at one o' clock, and by that time they were all feeling a little peckish. She gave her lover a brief kiss before going to the kitchen to prepare some food for them, not wanting to hear any more of Meowth's teasing about them. She fed the other pokémon whilst she was allowing the water to boil, and she couldn't help but wonder what could have made Arbok forget what James' scent was like.

      After they had eaten their breakfast/dinner, James felt like it was about time he had a shower. He went into the room quietly so that Jessie wouldn't realise he had gone and start fussing over him. His leg was aching from the small distance he had just walked, so he thought that a shower would either numb the pain or make it worse from standing, preferably the first. He felt guilty as he locked the door and turned the shower on, but it turned out that Jessie hadn't been at all worried about him standing on his bad leg for about ten minutes, probably because he'd walked so much yesterday and it hadn't crippled him. He had to bite his lip sharply to stop himself from crying out in pain as the tepid water rebounded back on his wounds, which had yet to heal properly. Astonishingly, the pain where Jessie had hit him with the vase over a week ago had virtually disappeared. He assumed that his body didn't register it as serious after his assault had taken place, or at least that was how he saw it anyway.

      Jessie sat on the bed beside Meowth and they were in the middle of discussing who could possibly want to deliberately hurt any of them when they heard the door being knocked. Jessie automatically got up to answer it, and she saw a small, well-sealed cardboard box addressed to James. Colour rapidly vanished from her face, as it not only had his full name on it, but it also had the exact address and room number of the hotel they were staying in. She picked it up and left it on the couch; although it may hold something sinister, she was unable to bring herself to open his mail. She called for him to hurry up with his shower, and he emerged from the bathroom in just his jeans roughly minutes after her calling him. He asked her what it was that she wanted, and she mutely pointed to the box. He was perplexed by it just as much as she was, but finished drying himself before going to open it. Jessie was anxious to find out what was in it, but she had no desire to make her apprehension obvious to anyone, let alone her closest (and almost her only) friend. Meowth jumped up and sniffed the box, but after doing so he hissed and ran out of the room, causing more questions to swamp both of the humans' thoughts.

      Once James was more or less certain that he was completely dry, he got a sharp knife from the kitchen and picked it up, contemplating which side he should cut first. He decided to cut the right side off completely before investigating its contents, as it had felt too heavy for paperwork, and it also seemed too light for anything bigger than a small Weedle. It acted like a sort of anti-climax for them, as the only thing that was inside it was a pokéball, whereas they had been expecting something more harmful. Of course, there was always the matter of what it was exactly that was inside the spherical object…

      No matter how hard they tried, they couldn't stop shaking as they heard the bloodcurdling scream from the room next to them, as though in disbelief from what they'd done. They had **not **expected something this macabre from their employers, just like they hadn't expected that they would actually carry out the grisly order. Although they had possessed the sense not to open the pokéball, they were plagued with what they thought the pokémon would look like.

      Jessie had been the one to scream, and then pass out, and James had been the one who had thrown up on sight of the ball's contents, and then he had collapsed painfully on his knees. Before them lay the most stomach-turning sight that either of them had ever seen, including experiments they had witnessed being carried out on living pokémon. When James had pressed the release button on the pokéball, he hadn't expected a mutilated carcass of a Growlithe to materialise in front of them. Its stomach had been slit open and the sides had been deliberately forced apart to cause some of the viscera to spill out onto the carpet. Some of the skin on its cheek had been scraped away, and part of its right eye had a cut through it, probably from the same knife motion. At the neck of the murdered beast was a sight even more horrific than the Growlithe's entrails or its eye. The Growlithe's throat had been torn out and a note had been left in its place. James felt a fresh wave of nausea wash over him as he crawled over to the canine to retrieve the note; the smell was fetid enough, never mind what he was about to do. He felt thoroughly sickened as he heard a squelching sound as the paper was removed from its macabre position, and automatically backed away from the cadaver before even considering reading it. After looking at his unconscious girlfriend as if to brace himself to see what the note might read, he actually passed out himself when he read what the note said, in the same sinister style as the previous one, with the only exception being that the handwriting was different. It read:

      'Red-heads look gorgeous with their throats cut out, don't they?'

      Much later that evening…

      James was scrubbing his hands constantly to get rid of the thought of what he had touched; he had come to before Jessie had (probably from all the practice he'd already had that week) and tried to recall the pokémon back into its pokéball, but it had not worked, no matter how hard he had tried. After ten fruitless efforts, he could only reach one conclusion: the Growlithe had been partially alive when this had happened. He hoped that it had just been his blood cells that were alive, and that the creature had not still been breathing, the mere thought of it was enough to make James want to throw up again. He desisted from doing so again, as because of the way his nerves had been earlier; it had taken him twice as long as it normally took for him to clean the soiled carpet. He had placed a thick sheet over the Growlithe and carried Jessie over to Meowth in the bedroom to prevent her panicking the second that she would wake up again. The blood had disappeared from his hands almost immediately, but he scrubbed them to be certain and he only gave up when they had been rubbed raw.

      He turned the tap off and briskly walked over to his friends so they could formulate a plan that might actually work. The hindrance in his walk acted as little more than an irritant to his speed rather than painful, as it slowed him slightly, but his mind was on more important matters. Jessie had woken up and sat on the bed with her head between her legs, showing that he wasn't the only one possessing a desire to empty the contents of their stomach. He sat beside her and rubbed her back soothingly to try and make the uncomfortable feeling disperse, but at the same time he was wincing from the sting of the material on his hands. He held her close against his body, before they began to talk about their plans for the next few days, Meowth went over to them and sat on James' lap to hear what they'd do before collecting their wages on the tenth, and James mentioned the note. Jessie went hysterical when she heard about it, and James waited to speak until after he felt certain that Jessie would be able to talk without throwing up and/or start screaming again.

      "I think we should bury it somewhere. I somehow get the feeling that it didn't want this to happen and we can't just leave it here"

      "But where? It's not as if we carry a plot of land with us"

      "Don't you think I know that? We'll have to work something out, otherwise I'll never forgive myself if we just dump it somewhere"

      "I hate to ask you this honey, but it wasn't Growly was it?"

      "Nope, luckily. Once the initial repulsiveness had sunk in, I checked to see if it was him, just in case. I suppose we could always bury it at my house, just as long as my parents don't spot us. I know they've given up on the whole marriage idea after I made them change the will, but why bother making our presence known?"

      "Are you sure that would work?"

      "Security is very tight, especially at the edges of the land, but unless they've changed them during the last year, I should still remember all of the access codes"

      "And if they have?"  
      "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it, but until then we won't worry ourselves more than we have to. Technically, it's not as if I'm trespassing anyway"

      "What are the chances of anybody finding us in the grounds?"  
      "Slim to none. The security is intense at the easily accessed areas, but I know the easy routes. You'll cross at least two code points before entering the main grounds, so if anybody does follow us, they'll find themselves in a tricky situation sooner or later. We can hide out in Growly's house until we need to leave again if you want. There shouldn't be any danger at all then"

      "Why are you so certain?"

      "I was the one to come up with the codes for it, and since I changed my mind every few days whenever Jessibelle was annoying me more than usual, I thoroughly know how the system works"

      "You had a security system installed in a kennel?"

      "I know it sounds pathetic, but I used to sleep in there whenever my parents were giving me lectures on how to act more like a gentleman"

      "If we leave early enough tomorrow, we won't be sighted and hopefully we won't be missed by these freaks until some point in the late afternoon. I'll pack our things now so that way we at least we won't have to get up too early tomorrow, and that also means that you won't have to see it again unnecessarily. I think even the split second I saw it was too much, never mind how you touched it"

      "That would be great Jess. I draped a sheet over it, so at least you won't have to look at it, so it's the stench you need to worry about. I suggest that we try and get some sleep as soon as possible. I know I need some anyway after that experience, even if I did black out earlier. From now on, none of us are to leave to go anywhere alone. That includes your nightly prowls too, Meowth"

      "It also includes our 'disgusting moments', so if I were you I'd learn to have selective hearing, or learn how to tolerate them"

      "This sounds like fun already"

      Five feet to their left…

      "I think we'll miss them before mid-day tomorrow, don't you? In any case, if they didn't want us to know their location, then they should either have taken our room's glasses or not spoken quite so loudly. It might give us better hearing, but my ear is so sore after using it"

      "At least we have a night off if they do decide to go to sleep soon. Do you think that we should tell our employers of this unexpected change of location?"

      "We can do it later, because I think we should wait a while in case anything else unexpected happens"

      "Sounds fine to me, after all, it doesn't really matter as long as we're one step ahead of them"

      Once all of their belongings had been gathered and repacked, the exhausted trio lay together on the bed. It was strange for Meowth to sleep anywhere closer than six feet away from his partners, but they all knew that they couldn't risk anything like this happening to any of their pokémon. James was predominantly worried about the note more than the carcass, as it had threatened his best friend/lover's life, and he didn't know what he would do if the event actually arose.

A.N.

Sorry for the delay with this part, but I've been busy with exams and stuff. For the record, Jessibelle is **not **the person behind the whole business, as a few people have presumed already. Have fun guessing, if all goes to plan it will be revealed before the end of September, or at least October!!!


	9. September 9th, 2000

                                           Saturday, September 9th 2000

      James woke up to the shrill pitch that was being emitted by the alarm clock at half four in the morning, and it took him a few moments to recollect the reason why they had even set it. He remembered with a harsh flashback of the contents of the pokéball being released during the previous day, and the more he tried to shake the image, the further it embedded itself into his thoughts.  It was after he had discovered a flaw in their plan that he realised that he was the only one who had heard the alarm. He gently kissed Jessie on her lips to wake her up, and shook Meowth once his first task was completed. Neither of them appeared to be especially grateful to be woken up at that time, but James cut them off before they could voice their complaints. He supported himself on his elbows as he whispered:

      "Before either of you start complaining, we don't know how much distance there is between us and our attackers, so we'll have to move out as quickly and as quietly as possible. We've also managed to overlook something in our plans"  
      "Such as…?"

      "Such as how are we supposed to leave this room with a dead pokémon, **without **attracting anyone's attention?"

      "We could toss it out the window, and one of you could make sure that you catch it"

      "We could **not** just throw it out of the window and hope for the best, Meowth. We don't know how what the rate of decomposition it is going through, so think about what could happen to it if it suddenly moved through the air"

      "That's disgusting James! It's bad enough that its eyes are open, but…I don't even want to think about that!"

      "You passed out after a couple of seconds, and I had to take something out of where its throat used to be. Imagine how I feel about that. I guess we could always use one of our spare smoke bombs if we do get seen by anybody, but it still seems risky"

      "Let's go now anyway, at least that way there won't be that many people around"

      Meowth and Jessie balanced their belongings between them as James picked up the Growlithe (and thankfully the sheet remained in place), and they left the room. They were just entering the main foyer and preparing to make their escape when they saw the receptionist at the vending machine down the corridor, waiting for his coffee to finish filling his cup. He looked over at Jessie and dropped his polystyrene cup since he wasn't honestly expecting to help anybody at that hour of the night. He stuttered out his apologies for the slight delay, and after he asked her to wait for a second, she indicated to James for him to continue heading towards the door as she called out for the receptionist to help her, and he obliged since the Growlithe was becoming unbearably difficult to carry. He froze once he reached the door upon hearing Jessie beginning to flirt with the already captivated receptionist, jealousy flooding his feelings and thoughts.

      She was aware that there was something wrong as she hadn't heard the door open, but she couldn't do anything that wouldn't make James' 'competition' look over in that direction. She deliberately took her time in taking the key out of the pocket in her jeans, which not only acted as a distraction for the young male, but it was also supposed to encourage James to move, except that didn't appear to be working. Fear flooded her mind since she didn't know what the chances were of him doing anything that would make his presence known, but she saw her chance when she handed back the room's key. She intentionally knocked the pot that held roughly twenty pens that had the name of the hotel written on each of them, causing the attendant to automatically drop down and pick them up as Jessie tried to sound sincere as she apologised. She turned to face James and insistently indicated that he should leave, and after a couple of angry glances from both sides, he left as quietly as he could. 

      Since his arms were already 'occupied', James was unable to stop the door from banging shut behind him, and so he fled until he reached the balloon. The receptionist looked at the door as the noise was made, and in case James was in his vision, she gently moved his left cheek with her hand and turned his head back towards her. He asked her if she'd consider returning any time in the near future, and she said that she'd definitely stay there the next time that she was in the area. Not that she ever wished to be in that area again; it had left her with the most frightening moments of her life. She suddenly realised that she could manipulate the worker's mind even more and she picked up a pen and a form that were beside the bell. She almost felt guilty as she wrote something on it slowly, glancing up at him every other second. Almost. She folded the piece of paper up four times and closed his fist around it as she whispered: 

      "See you around"

      After she had left the building, the young male shook himself out of his daze and eagerly opened the note that she had written, and it simply read:

      'Jessie--don't call me'

      Jessie and Meowth sprinted through the forest until they could make out James' shape at the balloon, but they stopped when they heard him call out for them to stay back for a minute. Jessie asked him what was wrong, but he didn't say anything to either of them until he said it was all right for them to approach the balloon again. When asked again, what the reason was for keeping them back, he shrugged his shoulders and said:

      "I thought I'd save you from what I had to see. When I was nearly at the balloon, the sheet got caught in a thorny branch and was pulled off the carcass. I asked you to stay where you were because I was in the middle of fixing the sheet so that it couldn't blow away if an updraft hits it when we're in mid-air"

      "You used your initiative well"

      James muttered something in response to Jessie's compliment that she couldn't quite catch, but it sounded like he was making a comment about her attitude that she had developed at the hotel. She looked into his eyes to see how he was feeling like she usually did, except this time he deliberately turned around before she had the chance to read his emotions properly. They moved all of their possessions into the balloon without a word passing between them as quickly as possible in case their attackers caught up with them, unaware that the people in question were still sleeping with full knowledge of where they would be heading. It was only when they took off shortly after five o' clock that Jessie asked him what was wrong. He checked their position before facing her and forcing out:

      "In case you haven't noticed, I'm going 'home' today with a dead pokémon that was sent to me as a threat. The last thing I needed to see was you acting like a whore back there"

      Jessie took what came out of his mouth like a punch to the jaw; she was stunned at first before anger grew inside of her to consume her hurt. She looked at him in disbelief at what he had just said before collecting her thoughts and saying:

      "I was **not** acting like a whore, I was distracting the employee whilst you were supposed to make your exit. If you take the time to ask Meowth, you'll find out that I didn't even so much as kiss him, let alone act like a whore"'

      "Is that meant to make it any better? You **abandoned** me when I was in the hospital when you thought that I was being unfaithful when I had nothing to do with the lipstick, and here you go doing something worse. Maybe you didn't actually kiss him, but you still showed that you could easily do something like that"

      "Are you saying that you can't trust me?"

      "Is that what you think I'm saying?"

      "I don't know what you're thinking anymore. My little 'act' as you called it managed to let us leave without paying for yesterday"

      "Do you want an award or something?"  
      "Save it for someone who cares. I try to save some money for us, and you can't even sound the slightest bit grateful"

      "Whatever"

      They both knew that it was just a moment between them, but both of them still felt hurt by the other person's actions. James turned his back on her again and navigated the balloon for the entirety of the journey, leaving Jessie with the sudden desire to be anywhere other than there with him due to the uncomfortable atmosphere. She looked at Meowth as if for some inspiration as to what she should do, but all she got from him was an equally confused look and a shrug. James was eventually left with no choice other than to face her direction at one point, since he was finding it difficult to remain conscious due to the overwhelming stench of the fetid scent that the carcass was emitting. She was looking out at the scenery with her back to him, and she was slouched with her forearms resting on the top of the basket. He knew that he had hurt her by what he had said, but at that moment he was too wound up by what was happening to try to explain how apologetic he felt, and he also feared that he could say something else that he'd regret if she started the argument again. 

      He checked their position nearly half an hour later and lowered the gas being used by the burner before walking a little closer to her and placing his hand on her back. He felt guilty as he saw her flinching at his touch, but she didn't do or say anything that would suggest that she wanted him to remove it. He ran his hand gently over her back and once he was certain that her attitude was less volatile, he stood behind her and wrapped his arms around her stomach, whispering how sorry he was into her ear. As much as Jessie wanted nothing more than to melt at his touch, she still felt angry by what he had said to her and refused to do say anything as he held her in his arms. Her anger swiftly dissolved as he kissed the back of her neck, and once she had grasped a hold on her emotions again, she turned around so that he could apologise to her face. She accepted his apology and let him kiss her properly, feeling that she should probably have held back a little longer than what she did, but at least they got some amusement out of Meowth's groans at their actions.

      Jessie felt James tense up once the far boundaries of his house came into view at twenty-five past eleven, and he veered off towards the extreme right so that they were flying over a large lake, meaning that the section of land that they'd approach would be one of the few security breaches. They entered the grounds without any difficulties and they flew over two twenty foot high walls in the process that were there for added security measures apparently, as James explained. Unless you're thirteen and know the codes to the gates like the back of your hand that is he added to himself mentally. He manoeuvred the balloon over to a dense wooded area to ensure that the balloon was properly concealed before revealing the direction that they would be heading in.

      They finally reached their destination after four and a half miles of walking; it was an area that held nothing other than small knolls, and upon closer inspection, Jessie realised that all of the small mounds were graves. James quietly explained that this was the only area of the gardens that he could recall his parents avoiding, and also that he'd dug each of them himself. He took a moment to look at one grave in particular, that of an Eevee that he had owned when he was twelve. He had been raising it to give it to Jessie for her birthday when he returned to school in the later part of the year, but it had died when it was just six months old. He had always suspected that its death had been aided since it had died just after he had told his mother what he was going to do with it, but there was no evidence to back up his theory. He avoided answering any forthcoming questions by entering a tool shed and only taking one shovel out, expecting to do the work alone like he used to when he buried one of his pokémon. He was relieved to see that Jessie followed suit and they began their hard chore.

      They had to dig the hole twice as big as what would normally have been suffice in view of the fact that they didn't know how big it would need to be due to the length of time that rigor mortis had been given to set in. The hole was finally finished shortly before one o' clock, and both of them were close to exhaustion from both the tiring digging and the lack of nutrition that their bodies had received. Neither had eaten since the meal they had eaten in the previous morning, and James had thrown that up upon sight of the carcass. James placed the cadaver in the grave, and they were relieved to see that they had made enough room on each of the sides. They began to cover it with soil and the work was finally finished at a quarter past four, all three of them crying bitterly. Even though it was in Meowth's nature to hate dog-type pokémon, he felt empathy when he thought about the conditions that the Growlithe must have died in. James collapsed painfully on his knees out of fatigue, due to both the force he had exerted on its muscles both before and throughout the event, and it was also because the heavy mud was adding unwanted weight to his legs. He looked at each of the graves again whilst his body summoned up the energy to get up, and he found himself concentrating on his Eevee's again.

      He eventually stood up shakily and returned the tools before commencing the slow walk back to the balloon, each of them feeling a little bit lighter having finished the deed which had been hanging over their heads for nearly twenty-eight hours. They scrubbed the balloon out meticulously, and it was some stage after six o' clock that they were able to fly the balloon closer to the densely wooded area a mile away from Growly's house. They entered it easily as James remembered the codes as if he had only programmed them that morning, and the first thing he did was check to see if any of the food that had been left in the cupboards since the last time he had stayed there was still in date. Surprisingly enough, most of it was still edible until 2005 and he cooked a meal for the three of them whilst Jessie fed the other pokémon. Meowth left to have a look around in the mansion after receiving a warning that the rooms were soundproof if the door was shut. The humans continued to eat their meal in next to silence, except the difference between what it was like now compared to earlier was that there was a friendly atmosphere this time.

      Once they had finished their meal, they tidied their dirty crockery away, and James asked Jessie if she would like to share a hot tub with him to remove the sweat and dirt that had been building up on his skin since half four that morning. She smiled at his suggestion and kissed him avidly to show her approval at his suggestion, and he led her up the stairs by her hand.

      Viridian City, 19:00hrs

      She turned into the car park at Team Rocket Headquarters and shot an exasperated look at her partner, who was grinning moronically at something in his hands. As much as his present occupation irked her beyond belief, she was not only eternally thankful that the black had completely vanished from her hair, but since they had been given a day free of following their 'targets', she could wear whatever she wanted, and that meant that there wasn't even the slightest tone of pink anywhere on her clothing. The thing that she was particularly happy about was that the orders that they had to follow weren't anywhere near as grisly as the pokéball or the attack that they had launched. They hadn't bothered getting up until noon that day as it was nice to lie in bed without having to drive halfway across the country each day just to take some notes, or if the event called for it, a few photographs. She took the key out of the ignition and asked her partner how they should go about carrying out the next stage of the plan. He obviously didn't hear her as he was too deep amid his own thoughts, but he jumped and paid attention when she caught him off his guard by his partner releasing a loud, meaningful cough.

      "What?"

      "I just said something and you didn't acknowledge it in the slightest bit. Put that stuff away and listen to me for once, will you?"

      "Alright. Now what is it that you were saying?"

      "I asked you how should we get into the building without anybody noticing that we have **that** with us?"  
      "You say 'that' as though it's a bad thing. I happen to find this section of our assignment intriguing"

      "Trust you to enjoy something like that! I still don't see the purpose of it, it's completely obvious that James didn't have anything to do with this"

      "It's fascinating. I hope that Jessie will think that he put these up and ditch him. And with her out of the direct assignment…"

      "Like that's going to happen"

      "I can hope, can't I? Anyway, what's so difficult about entering this building?"

      "You know as well as I do the amount of guards that are on duty in there right now. What if they see us?"

      "It's a gym as well, isn't it? We can just say that we're here to challenge the leader if anyone sees us, and that this stuff is a non-related subject. Which, technically speaking, it is"

      "It still seems risky. I think we should go in now whilst it's fairly busy, that way there's a lesser chance of us getting spotted. You can examine that stuff when you're putting your half up"

      "Suits me. I'll be sorry to see this go all the same"

      They left the safety of the vehicle with the next stage of their twisted instructions and entered the large building with their duty completely focused in their minds, or at least in the female's. They left fifteen minutes later, having finished their task without any difficulties, and set off to find a hotel to spend the night in, _before_ they became too drunk later in the evening. They booked themselves into two separate rooms, knowing that the male would not be returning alone on his first proper night off. Besides, they had seen enough of each other since the project had begun to last them the rest of their lifetimes.

      James lay back on the bed he used to sleep in whenever he rang Jessie; he had designed it when he was younger and it was nowhere near as lavishly decorated as any of the other rooms, thus hiding his wealth from his best friend. He had felt guilty when he had been lying to her at the time about his background, but he knew in the long term that it was for the best to keep it that way. Although he hadn't had sex with Jessie in the hot tub, they had still gotten a major kick out of being that close together without any real threat of being spied on. He was just wearing a bathrobe as he lay on the bed since there was a washing machine there just begging to wash all of their laundry, and Jessie had left him to 'look for Meowth'. He knew as well as she did that she had no intention of doing any such thing and that she was getting a buzz out of having a large, empty mansion to themselves. He was just thinking of closing his heavy eyes when he heard something that made him shoot up into a sitting position; the front door had just been shut loudly and he could hear heavy footsteps in the main foyer. He tightened the knot on his robe and walked over to the top of the staircase to get a good grip on the situation, and felt relieved by what he saw.

      James released a sharp whistle and Growly bounded up the stairs and jumped against him, knocking James flat on his back as he licked his face repeatedly. James was feeling a little short on oxygen as the weight of Growly's paws on his shoulders weren't exactly comfortable, and he was laughing so hard at being licked that breathing was next to impossible. He could hear the violent blows that the table beside him was receiving as Growly's tail wagging became more enthusiastic, and then he heard Jessie say:  
      "Compromising position. Am I supposed to become jealous?"

      James was finally able to breathe as Growly leapt not so gently off his chest and ran over to Jessie where he barked boisterously around her. James warned her to keep an eye on her robe as he stood up, and before she could even ask what he had meant by that, Growly had seen the end of the belt hanging down at James' sides and growled before playfully tugging at it. James' cheeks began to burn as he saw Jessie doubled-up as she saw Growly open his robe, and he made sure that he used a double knot when he re-closed the ends of it, and he began to mutter something about having Growly around the next time they needed to flash someone. Growly eventually calmed down and they set off down the long highly waxed wooden floor in search of their feline friend in all of the open rooms.

      Without sufficient warning, Growly suddenly tore off further down the passage and turned to the right at an intersection of that path with another which was perpendicular to it. The young couple raced after him and skidded on their bare feet as they turned the corner, and they were barely to spot a red blur rush into one of the empty rooms. They stopped just outside of the doorway and looked in to see the funniest scene that either of them had seen in a long while, including when James had been under an attack from Growly. Attached to the beam joining the wall to the ceiling was Meowth in full feral mode, and the more that Growly jumped at him to convince him to go down, the further Meowth dug his claws into the wood and hissed at him. Neither of the humans could recall either Meowth's fur that upright, or his ears pressed that flatly against his head. James whistled Growly back over to his side and told Meowth to get down, who unfortunately was still so shaken up that he would have fallen off if the wood hadn't been so easy to get his claws into. After Jessie and James had taken their clean, dry clothes out of the machine, they decided to have another meal since they were still lacking in nutrition.

      Later that evening, the young couple were lying on the bed together with the door locked to prevent any interruptions from the pokémon. Even though it only amounted to a quick kiss and feel alone together, it was relaxing just to have some time in each other's company. When they felt ready to go to sleep at half eleven, they stripped off completely and after turning off the light, James opened the door slightly so that the room wasn't completely soundproof. He loved the feeling of having her naked in his arms even if they didn't do anything serious, and the feeling was mutually experienced. The only disturbance they suffered from in the night was at two o' clock when Growly leapt onto the bed to sleep on their feet, and even then they weren't kept awake by it.


	10. September 10th, 2000

                                           Sunday, September 10th 2000

      The young couple were rudely awoken at half past nine by Growly jumping up and licking each of their faces and after throwing the exuberant pokémon off their stomachs, they turned to each other and shared a kiss. Growly jumped up on the bed again, but this time the side of his paw hit against the side of James' sore leg, causing his owner to sit forward abruptly. He rubbed his hand over the skin to try and reduce the burning sensation whilst Jessie scratched Growly's ear to try and calm him down a bit, and he couldn't help but feel guilty as he realised that he'd be leaving him behind again. Once the irritating sting had finally disbanded, he lay back again and ran his hand over Jessie's stomach since he knew that she liked it when he did it to her. She stopped scratching Growly and gently pulled his head closer to hers for a quick kiss, but Growly seemed to have adapted the same attitude towards their relationship that Meowth had. He whined once he saw that they weren't paying any attention to him and he jumped on top of Jessie, causing them to involuntarily separate due to the force that he was playfully applying to her hips. It was her turn to become embarrassed as the sheets were pulled down to her waist by his paws, and she was laughing so hard that she couldn't use any real strength to try and push him off her properly. She calmed herself down a little when she heard James saying something to Growly, and she mock glared at him when she realised what it was he was saying.

      "Why exactly are you saying 'good job Growly?'"

      "A bit obvious isn't it? He's given me an image that I could look at all day"

      "I'll bet that you'll only think that when I'm young and attractive"

      "Too damn right I will! I'll make sure that the only skin you'll show is the area around your eyes when you're an old woman. Anyway, who said that you were attractive?"

      "I did. Besides, I sincerely doubt that you'd go out with me if I were ugly"

      "Yeah, it would ruin my image"

      "Thanks a lot!"

      "You've said it yourself, you're attractive. In fact, I think you're beautiful, and you know it"

      "Now that we've established the obvious, will you help me get Growly off? He's cutting off my air circulation"

      "No problem, but for a pretty woman, you are pretty weak"

      He called Growly over to his side of the bed whilst Jessie covered herself up a little in case something similar happened again. James commanded Growly to sit and stay for a moment so that the humans could have a couple of minutes to resume where they had left off. He began to whine again and they decided that they might as well get up for all the peace they'd have if they stayed there, which unfortunately set him back into a hyper mode upon seeing his owner getting up. Once they had both put their spare uniforms on (there was nothing in this world that could make James sew the tears in his trousers at that hour of the day), James told Jessie that they'd eat upstairs in case anybody came to feed Growly, and they set off to look for Meowth again. The search was less difficult this time, as Meowth had kindly decided to curl up and sleep on the bed in the room just opposite to where they had slept. James applied the cream to his leg and waited until he had eaten some of the breakfast that Jessie had cooked before taking his tablets.

      When it was approaching eleven o' clock, James knew that it was time for them to set off again before they were seen by any of the servants, and also because he knew that they'd need to leave around that time to ensure they were in Viridian City before nightfall to receive their salaries. He scratched Growly behind his ears as he explained that he was leaving him again, and he felt heartbroken when he heard the unhappy whine that was coming from his throat. His tail had drooped and he seemed utterly depressed that he hadn't even seen his owner for forty-eight hours since he had left him six years ago, and knowing this, James' conscience was being gnawed at by guilt again. He promised that he'd return at the next chance he got, but this only made his tail wag with the strength of a small gust of wind.

      As James shouldered his bag just before leaving the house, he suddenly remembered something and he asked his friends to go to the balloon and wait for him there. They did as he asked and he went up to the room he had spent the night in and retrieved three A5 books from a panel in the back of the wardrobe, which he put into his knapsack. He tossed a pair of socks in Growly's direction for him to have something small to remember his scent by, and smiled when he saw him catch them and playfully bite and chew them with his tail wagging happily at his small token.

      James descended the stairs and quietly locked the door that they had opened the previous evening, and once he was finished, he checked that there weren't any servants in the area who might spot him and then sped (well, ran as fast as one could when one's leg had been in a gin trap less than a week ago) over to where his friends were in the balloon, awaiting his arrival. Jessie could tell that he was upset at leaving his friend behind, and once they had begun to fly in the direction of Viridian City, she slid her arms around his waist and whispered:

      "We'll see him again, I promise"

      He smiled and kissed her lightly to try and show that he wasn't feeling too bad about the whole situation, but his subdued nature was still obvious to anyone who looked at him. The time appeared to melt away when they followed the route to Team Rocket Headquarters, and they arrived at their destination before two o' clock. They took their time climbing the long metal flight of stairs to the Team Rocket section of the building since they knew that they were early by about twenty minutes. They knew from previous proceedings that if you had caught something, it didn't really matter what time you arrived at. On the other hand, if the only thing you had with you when you got there were empty pokéballs, much like what they had now, punctuality was essential. Meowth watched on in disgust as his friends had their arms around each other's waist, knowing that they wanted to do something a little higher on the romance scale. He didn't mind the fact that his friends were in love, but it did bother him that they were all over each other at every opportunity since they were virtually his only friends. Truth be told, he felt more out of place now than when he had first started to steal; at least back then he hadn't trusted anybody and he depended solely on himself. He tore his look away from his friends and mumbled that he'd be back before they went in for their wages. James turned his head so that he could look at Jessie properly, and a sense of longing became obvious in both pairs of eyes, but the moment was disturbed by a familiar voice talking to them. It was Cassidy's.

      "I have been the one appointed to thank both of you for your, um, 'contribution' to the team. I've only just heard about it myself, but I honestly didn't think that either of you could get away with anything like it. Well done"

      "Excuse me, but what exactly have we done to deserve thanking by anybody?"

      "Don't be so modest, James. In fact, your participation has made you quite the hero with most of the team, both male and female"

      "What are you talking about? I didn't participate in anything"

      "Is this another one of your tricks to try and disparage us? If so, it's not going to work"

      "Calm down Jessie, otherwise we mightn't find out what we're supposed to have done"

      "You honestly don't know anything about this, do you?"  
      "Know anything about what? We've only been here for ten minutes and we haven't spoken to anybody except the secretary"

      "Oh my god, I had no idea that you didn't know about it. I just presumed that it had been you two that had arranged it, due to both parts of it. I had no idea"

      "Will you please tell us what it is that you had no idea about? I don't like the sound of this at all"

      "Would agents 49573A9F, 49573A9M and 49573A9P report to Giovanni's office at once please? Thank you"

      "We have to go now, but will you please hang around and tell us what it is when we've finished?"

      "I'm sorry, but I can't, I have to go to a meeting with Butch in five minutes. I hope you find out who did this, even if you do hate me Jessie"

      "Would those agents kindly report to Giovanni's office IMMEDIATELY!!!"

      They said goodbye to Cassidy and ran down the corridor to get to the office, luckily colliding with Meowth along the way, both of their thoughts clouded with bewilderment at what they had been told. They caught their breath momentarily before entering the office, trying to compose their excuses as to why they returned empty-handed yet again. Jessie entered the room first like she usually did, and was relieved to see that it wasn't as dark as it usually was; whenever she felt nervous in there, she always turned to James as if she was looking for some moral support. Meowth was given his meagre salary without a word, and the tension in the air was causing all three employees to feel uneasy. He wasn't saying anything, merely glancing at each member for a few seconds before moving onto the next one as if he was trying to work something that only he could comprehend. Finally, he told them that this time he'd be talking to each of them individually, and told the human members of the trio to leave the room to let him talk to Meowth. Once they had honoured his request, they left and stood roughly five feet away from the door, so that no matter what they were accused of, it wouldn't be eavesdropping.

      Meowth's eyes widened as he saw what Giovanni had wanted to talk to him about, and he found it pretty hard to deny any of the compelling evidence that was pointing in his partners' direction, even if he did know that they would never dream of doing anything like it. He knew that they were sick of their jobs and that they'd wanted to quit for quite some time now, but he would never have expected anything like this…

      "So what do you think he wants to talk to us about?"

      "I don't know Jess, but I'm fairly worried about whatever we're 'heroes' for. I certainly hope that the two aren't linked"

      "I wish I knew what Cassidy had been talking about, because it seems like the whole organisation knows about it except us"

      "Did you see the way he was looking at us in there? It felt as though he was trying to read our thoughts or something. This is making me feel more perturbed, even for Giovanni's standard"

      "It felt like he was looking through me rather than at me, but it was the way he didn't say anything as he was doing it that felt unsettling"

      Meowth suddenly left the office and he told James to enter the room on his own before he took off down the corridor, not lingering to answer any questions as he had been instructed to do so. Jessie met James' lips with hers briefly to act as a talisman as he braced himself for whatever the near future held in store for him, and his anxiousness multiplied as he approached the door. He crossed the threshold into the office and shut the door behind him, receiving only one word as he did it.

      "Sit"

      The word itself was said in a clipped tone that etched a hole through whatever courage he had left at this point, and humiliation swept over him as he felt like a Growlithe as he followed the instructions from his superior. He coolly asked what it was all about, but it rapidly faded and he felt panic shoot to his throat when Giovanni pulled an A3 envelope out of one of the desk's drawers and tossed it on the working top to ensure that it was in clear view of his worker. James didn't know what to expect to come out of it, but before he could ask his employer what was going on, he turned the envelope back around so that the open end was facing himself. Giovanni smirked at his worried expression and thought to himself It should be interesting to see him try and squirm his way out of this one. Even his friend couldn't defend him that well

      James knew better than to speak without permission and he felt knots form throughout his system the longer Giovanni looked at him with that particularly penetrating stare, suddenly finding that he wished that the darkness would return to the office once more. Regardless of how he truly felt inside, he refused to lose eye contact with him, knowing that that would make him appear guilty for whatever he was supposed to have done. He didn't know whether it was relief or panic that consumed the entirety of his body as Giovanni opened the envelope with his left hand. The only thing that James was certain about was that he had **not** been expecting anything like what left both the envelope and Giovanni's mouth. A collection of photographs was extracted, except he could tell that there were a couple of other items remaining in the package from the shape that the paper was in.

      "You have wished to leave this job since you began failing your assignment, haven't you?"

      James was unsure whether or not this was a trick question since most of Giovanni's face stayed unseen when he sat back in the chair due to the shadows that the large chair cast upon him from the French window behind him, but he nodded uncertainly and said:

      "At times, yes I have, but one of my traits is that I stay at a task until it is completed, no matter how difficult or degrading it may be"  
     "Is that so? Is that partnered with your trait of failure, or perhaps your trait of failing deliberately?"

      "I'm sorry sir, but I'm not exactly certain what it is that is being implied"

      "Let me put it this way, you're able to capture any pokémon bar this one, but when you do capture it, you either return it or lose it straightaway"

      A photograph taken from a couple of months prior to that was tossed in James' direction, and it showed that they had Pikachu at their campsite. He could barely recall the occurrence but before he had been given a sufficient time to dwell on the incidence, he heard:

      "That was taken last April, apparently. One of my more competent employees took this since they were in the area at the time, but it was someone else who left the rest of these items in my possession. Whereas I have seen this photograph before, I don't ever remember seeing that pikachu. What do you have to say about that?"

      "It is true that it has happened to us in the past, but I can assure you that it was done so unintentionally. Each time we lose the pokémon to those brats, we go through more pain than what we feel is necessary, but we haven't asked to be relocated to another assignment to save the honour of Team Rocket"

      "Are you sure that's why? Or is it because if you're left out in the wilderness that nobody can see how well you're doing your job, or is it fear of being put on a proper job that makes you feel compelled to fail?"

      "Our 'failure' is completely inadvertent, and we take this as seriously as we do with any other mission we've been assigned"

      "Did you do this on any other mission?"  
      James fell silent as another photograph was tossed before him, except that this one had a greater impact on him than the previous one had—it was a shot of his first kiss with Jessie. Three further pictures were thrown before him, all of him kissing Jessie on the day that they had impulsively decided to take off work. Colour drained from his face as he heard:

      "Didn't think so. How recent are these?"

      "Th-they were taken in the last fortnight sir"

      "That's strange. I don't recall giving you a day off"

      An uncomfortable silence ensued.

      "Who took these, sir?"

      "I don't think that's any of your concern, but if you must know, the pictures and something else were left on top of the envelope outside of my door anonymously. You know that I don't mind if you screw around with your partner, _provided it doesn't interfere with your job_. You should know that rule like you know who you work for"

      "If you don't mind me saying sir, there has been quite a lot on our minds over the last few days that can contribute to the flaws in our recent work"

      "Like this?"

      A green-tinted photograph of Jessie and him having sex was produced showing that it was taken with a night-vision enabled camera, which caused nausea and disgust to overwhelm any other sentiment that he was feeling. It was solid proof that people had seen them that night like the first note had said, but it also meant that Giovanni had seen both of them in that situation, even if it was in two dimensional form. He exhaled slowly for a moment and said:

      "Actually, that inadvertently is part of the problem. The same people who took that photograph have followed us ever since I slept with her. In fact, they hospitalised me a few days ago"

      "Stimulating, to say the least. Do you know who these 'stalkers' are?"

      "No sir, and that's why I asked you if you knew who had left this stuff in your possession"

      "What did they do to you to admit you into hospital?"

      James explained everything that had happened to him ever since his attacker's presences had become known, and that included the fiasco involved with the lipstick. Once he'd finished, he was handed a form that he was asked to fill out, regarding the attempt to take the life of a rocket. Just when James thought that he was able to leave without a wage-reduction, he was brought back to reality harshly when Giovanni put the remaining photographs face-down and took something else out of the envelope; a miniature tape-recorder. James was unaware of what could possibly be on it, but he knew that whatever it was couldn't be good due to the sadistic grin on Giovanni's face. He clicked the play button and to James' horror, it began to play a conversation he'd had in June with Jessie in the midst of his eighteenth birthday's celebrations when they had both been very, **very **drunk. He shrank further into his chair as he relived the games that they had played whose titles included:

a) Reasons why Team Rocket was the worst organisation that anybody could work for

b) Ways to kill and/or castrate Giovanni

c) How many ways are there_ really_ when it comes to skinning your employer's Persian

d) Things to do to Giovanni once they had taken over

e) Things to do to Butch and Cassidy once they had taken over

      Thankfully, Giovanni pressed the stop button and said with a smirk:

      "That tape was an hour and a half long, all of which I have listened to. For the record, it's highly improbable that either of you would be able to seduce any of the Elite Squad until they gave you their key to my office. I believe that one was under 'You know you can vandalise anywhere once you sleep with the right lackey', or something similar. So much for your statement about protecting the honour of Team Rocket"

      "But sir, I was drunk!"

      "Is that supposed to make things better? 'I dragged the name of the organisation I work for through the mud, but that's okay because I can't take alcohol well'"  
      "But wasn't intentional sir!"

      "Maybe not, but this is. Here's your wages, I think you'll find that it has been reduced by 25% this time instead of 5%. Take it and send your tramp in"

      "She is not a tramp"

      "Telling me I'm wrong, huh? If I were you, I'd get out of my sight whilst you still have 75% of last month's wages"

      He left the office and told Jessie to go into the room as he walked past her, feeling absolutely mortified at what he had just sat through, and ignored everything that she said to him. He was waiting for his girlfriend in the waiting section when his leg suddenly began to hurt from being used so much whilst it was still recovering. He took the cream out of his pocket and went into the lavatory to apply it, not wishing to make his injury known to any of his co-workers. He went into one of the cubicles for added privacy, but it was only when he was fixing his trousers again that he bitterly realised what it was that had made him a hero with the other affiliates of the team. Stuck onto the back of the door was an enlarged photograph of Jessie from when she had woken up in the cave, but it had been taken with such precision that it was an extreme close-up of her that made it look like it had been taken from two feet away, but not only that, it had been taken without him anywhere in the picture. He angrily tore it down and checked the back of all of the other doors to find similar shots of her in all of them, with the exception of two doors whose picture had already been removed. As he folded them in half to carry them, he hastily realised something from what Cassidy had said to him earlier:

      'Don't be so modest, James. In fact, your participation has made you quite the hero with most of the team, both male and female'

      He groaned as he realised that the female members had received the same treatment, only with him in the pictures instead of Jessie. After leaving the bathroom, he checked that nobody was looking before darting into the women's 'facilities'. He was halfway through collecting his pictures when he heard the end cubicle open, and much to his horror, he saw that it was Cassidy that emerged from it. She grinned at his panic-stricken face and said:

      "Are you here to see if anybody wanted to see the real thing, pun unintended"

      James' face turned at least three different shades of red once he had realised what the pun was that she had said, and through gritted teeth he said:

      "I thought you were in a meeting"

      "Oh, I was. You've been in his office for nearly two hours, you do realise that don't you?"

      James felt shocked at the thought of how long he had felt uncomfortable in the office, but by sheer chance, Jessie was finished at the same time he left the facilities. He joined her and noticed that her facial features was either close to laughing or screaming, preferably the first, and he also saw that the envelope that she held was the same one that he had been tormented with, but they didn't say anything until they joined Meowth at the balloon. They flew the balloon in no direction in particular as they knew they'd have to catch something soon, but for the moment they weren't too bothered. Neither of the humans mentioned what it was that they were each holding and they made a silent vow to talk about it after Meowth had either gone to sleep or gone hunting that night, and they began to talk about more trivial matters to give a light-hearted atmosphere.

      Much later that evening, in some non-descript forest…

      Meowth left their company at some point after twelve, and even though both Jessie and James wanted nothing more than to go asleep, they decided to talk about what he had said to each of them and what they had brought out of the building earlier. James described what had happened whilst he was in the office earlier, and he saw that Jessie looked a little uncomfortable when the envelope was mentioned and he fully understood why after Jessie explained what Giovanni had wanted with her earlier.

      "Apparently, the original contents of the envelope had been pictures of me getting changed in the morning, and you can imagine what I looked like, but that wasn't all. Somebody had put some of my underwear in it and signed my name on one of the cups"

      "What did he say when you said that you didn't do it?"

      "I didn't tell him that I didn't do any of it, because he's the way he is, he gave me a 10% raise instead of a reduction, and I got a small bonus for it too"

      "You shouldn't have done that, it's dirty money, particularly when I made it clear that we were being followed"

      "We need the money, and at least I got the stuff back that I supposedly gave him. Did you get a bonus too?"

      "Nope, instead of him helping me out with a bit of extra money, he helped himself out with a bit of money taken out of my salary"  
      "You're joking!"

      "I wish I was. I'm down 25% instead of five. Someone gave him a recording of a conversation we'd had when we were drunk on my birthday, and he wasn't too pleased to find out that we had so many ways to kill and/or castrate him"

      "But that was months ago! Wait a second, does that mean that these losers have been trailing us since the fifteenth of June?"

      "I'd say earlier than that, but then again, the recording might be what secured them the job, a portfolio of sorts"

      "Disturbing"  
      "Very. To top it off, I found out why we were legends this morning"  
      "Why?"

      "Somebody had left enlarged photographs of us on the back of all of the washroom's stalls"

      "What's so special about pictures of us?"  
      "Think about it, what would be special about a picture of you, taken the night that we made love, on the back of a cubicle in the **men's **washroom?"  
      "Oh no, the last thing I need is more public nudity. That's so disgusting—did you get them all?"

      "Two of them were missing, and Cassidy saw me when I was collecting 'my' version of it"

      Jessie shuddered at the thought of it and James held her loosely against him as she inhaled his scent, sliding her arms around his waist. He inhaled sharply when she squeezed him slightly and said:

      "Go easy on the ribs, they're still a tad tender"

      "I'm sorry, is that better?"

      "Much. When was the last time I kissed you?"  
      "Way too long ago. Refresh my memory"

      He held her in his arms as he kissed her for nearly twenty minutes, and their eyes seemed to protest at being closed throughout that time without letting them go asleep, so they lay together by the campfire, simply too exhausted to stay awake after the weekend's actions, which were completely the opposite of the previous weekend's events. Unfortunately for them, whereas they hadn't taken much consideration in what direction they were heading in, their followers had taken great care in following them to their new location, and had set up their own campsite in the bushes mere feet away, awaiting the next day's instructions.


	11. September 11th, 2000

                                                Monday, September 11th 2000

      James woke up a little before Jessie did, and he realised how great the contrast between the rock-hard ground they slept on and the bed they had slept in the night before last truly was. He yawned and rubbed his eyes to try to remove the idea of turning around and going back to sleep for another while, but since he felt too drowsy to trust himself lying down and_ not_ fall asleep, he decided to get up and repair his original uniform's trousers for want of something to do. He pulled his uniform on in case any dirt got into his lacerations and infected it, and stretched to crack the bones in his back that were stiff from lying on the ground all night before sorting out the right thread. He despised doing close working such as sewing with anything slightly wrong with his back as he had to hunch to work with the material anyway. He glanced at his sleeping girlfriend after finding a comfortable position to sit in whilst he tried to fix the extensive tears in them, and he found it hard to believe that somebody had recorded a drunken conversation just for him to be faced with the threat of unemployment. The whole idea of their stalkers was starting to annoy him more than ever now, and the thought of somebody giving Giovanni Jessie's 'signed' underwear was nothing less than infuriating. He knew that it must have been hitting her harder than she was revealing, but he wasn't going to dwell on the subject if he could help it; the mere thought of what the male member's of the team probably did upon sight of Jessie on the back of the doors was revolting, and it made him wish that they had found out about it sooner. He wasn't especially bothered with people seeing him in that situation, but then again that could have been due to an embarrassing job that he had worked at when he was fifteen, and that was where he'd met Violet. He shook himself out of his thoughts of a past relationship and continued with his work as he heard his surroundings slowly liven up.

      Jessie woke up and discovered that her boyfriend wasn't holding her like he usually did, causing her to sit up. After seeing him beside the basket, she ensured that the edge of her sleeping bag was firmly held in place before calling out 'Good morning' to him. He smiled in response to her greeting and after putting his sewing down carefully, he went over to her and brushed her lips lightly with his own, instead of saying anything back to her as such. She disliked having to keep her hands on her chest since it was interfering with her temptation, but there was no chance that she'd expose anything unnecessarily after what she had supposedly given Giovanni. She mightn't have feared him as much as other recruits did, but there was always something about him that made her feel uneasy. When James pulled back from her, there was no mistaking the yearning that both of them were feeling to be anywhere in the world, providing that they were the only ones there. He handed Jessie her uniform and even though the procedure itself was awkward, she put it on without getting out of her sleeping bag. She ignored the amused look that James was giving her and asked him what he wanted to eat for his breakfast, having decided that she felt like cooking for once. He said that he wanted to get his sewing finished before eating anything, and she gave him another kiss before getting out of her sleeping bag.

      He returned to his tedious work to try to have it finished as quickly as possible and watched his girlfriend tidy up her belongings whilst he repositioned himself. Once she was certain that he was absorbed in his basting, she went over to the envelope that Giovanni had given to her to see what exactly had been submitted in her name. It was affecting her far greater than she was showing, and she would readily murder anybody that she thought had something to do with any of it. Inside the envelope were the photographs that had been shown to James, her 'signed' underwear, the tape recording from June (she still felt shocked to see that James had lost 25% of his wages and she had received a bonus even though she had come up with some of the games that did the most damage), the photographs that had been taken of her getting changed and there was another small, unopened envelope that she didn't recall seeing or hearing about from James before. She checked that James wasn't looking at her before turning so that her body was hiding it from his vision before opening it.

      She felt more than a little surprised when she saw that inside the envelope were three tickets and a small handwritten note, and she was unsure whether it was relief or disgust she felt when she saw that it was from Giovanni. The tickets were for the seasonal balls that he often held to try and show his gratitude to the select few that were invited, usually the people that were the most successful. It had been well over a year since either of them had even seen a ticket, let alone receive one, and it was one part of being successful that they both had thoroughly enjoyed. She unfolded the note and silently read it to herself.

      'If you're wondering why you're seeing these tickets, it is because I am so annoyed at the lack of pokémon that I have received from the three of you. Perhaps if you remember what it is like to be victorious again, it might inspire you to try harder in your assignment. I'll expect to see all of you present and accounted for on the night itself, and all excuses regarding a guest's absence are intolerable'

      She refolded the note and examined the tickets carefully; it was as if she was trying to work out if it was Giovanni's idea of a cruel joke or something, and when she saw that they were authentic, she called out to James to come over to her. He felt annoyed at having to apply force on his leg for the second time within the same five minutes, but he obliged his girlfriend without voicing his displeasure. He wound his arms around her stomach and asked her what it was that she wanted, feeling the same disbelief that she had experienced upon seeing the tickets. He kissed her neck until she realised that he was becoming distracted by something, and upon turning her head slightly, she saw what he was looking at, causing her to sigh mockingly.

      "You know that I have no problem with _you _seeing me like that, but I'd still like to think that you don't need to look at a photograph when you have me"

      "Sorry, I couldn't help myself. The offer was too tempting"

      "Please don't look at them, they're disgusting"  
      "I didn't know it was making you uncomfortable"

      "How could you not know? You should know that I hate anything remotely like that"

      "I know, it's just that…"

      "Just that what?"

      "It's just that I thought you'd react more than this. Normally you would have cried or lashed out or _something_. There's something familiar about them too, but I can't quite place it"

      "You mean you've seen them before? This is the first I've heard about it"

      "I'm not definitely saying that I have seen them before, I just get the feeling that I have"

      "And if you had, why didn't you tell me about it?"

      "I've already told you that I'm not sure if they are what I think they are anyway"  
      "But you haven't bothered telling me where you've seen something like them. How am I supposed to trust someone who does that?"  
      He bit his lip to keep back from saying what initially sprung to his mind when she mentioned trust and he took his arms away from her waist unexpectedly. He paused for a moment before hissing:

      "I don't know Jessie, but if you do think that I have something to do with this, you can rethink whatever feelings you say you have for me"

      He returned to his work and as guilty as he felt about snapping at Jessie, he knew that she needed to be certain that there was nothing that could connect him with the photographs. He knew that he could have phrased it less harshly, but he didn't like the way she was ready to accuse him when he wasn't even certain if they were the same as what he had seen before. If they were, he knew that he'd be in for it later…

      Once his work had been completed, he made them breakfast whilst she gave their pokémon some food in complete silence; it caused an atmosphere that Meowth could sense straight away when he woke up. Neither human would allow themselves to make direct eye contact with Meowth or the other person since this would probably lead to another argument, something that they all didn't want at that hour of the morning. They somehow managed to come to an arrangement about looking for the twerps, and they left to search for them in the balloon at eleven o' clock.

      Twenty-five feet below them…

      It took approximately six turns of the key in the ignition before the engine finally stormed into operation. She released a deep breath to show her exasperation with the troublesome engine and poked her partner sharply to make sure that he was fully awake before pressing her foot on the accelerator pedal. After receiving an indignant cry from him, she followed their targets on the smoothest route possible, feeling annoyed that they had to waste another day driving. Even more irritating, the black hair had returned. She had just been adapting to sleeping in a hotel and she was irritated to say the least about having to sleep on the rock-hard ground again. She smiled to herself at the thought of Jessie being pissed off with James; it was her way of forgetting the pain that she had felt when he had dumped her in case Jessie became single, and there was also the added bonus of most people believing the gay theory she had spread upon being asked why they had broken their relationship off. The brutality that had somehow fused itself into their job wasn't the only reason that she didn't want to continue with it; as much as she resented James for ditching her, it was hurting her being forced to look at his relationship with Jessie growing. She absentmindedly brushed away an annoying strand of hair that was catching the side of her eye as she concentrated on keeping track of their location and the direction that the hot air balloon was heading in concurrently. She was brought out of her thoughts unexpectedly when she felt her partner put his hand on her shoulder to get her attention, causing her to glance at him without properly taking her attention away from the trail they were driving along. He could tell that she wasn't paying attention and said her name before continuing.

      "What is it?"

      "I was just wondering, when was the last time that we were paid? I thought I had more money than that when I was at the pub a couple of nights ago"  
      "I don't think that we've been paid since I wrote the first note, and even then I think we were short-changed by a thousand or so in total"

      "That's what I thought. Shouldn't we have been paid after we delivered the Growlithe? I know it's hard for us to collect our salary, but if they found it easy enough to find us, well then I think they should help us out a little more than they do"

      "Inhaling would be helping us more than they are already. We've slaved at this mission ever since we've accepted it and they seem to take every short cut that they can. Frankly, I'm quite sick of it"

      "Make that double. I suspect that half of our overall wages will be spent on psychological therapy if they keep their disturbing standards as high as they have been over the last fortnight"

      "They certainly have an odd ability to show someone how they care anyway. Do you think that any of this will affect them mentally in the long run?"

      "Probably. Who knows what it will do to us, I still feel terrible for stabbing him"

      "So where do you suppose they're headed?"

      "My guess is to try to capture that rat, after all, there must have been quite a humiliating meeting yesterday. I wish I could have seen their faces"

      "I can't believe that the little tramp said that she sent the envelope to him, whatever morals I thought she might have had have now dispersed completely"

      "Who cares about morals? It was great seeing her like that, and then she reveals that she can handle the thought of her boss thinking that she did it. The best part was, we didn't even have to take the photographs"

      "I know. Finding out about their existence was sheer luck, and acquiring them from the owner wasn't any great hardship either"  
      "You could say that they didn't even miss them"

      Back in the air…

      Tension was seriously beginning to mount and nothing Meowth could do would snap them out of it, including four Fury-Swipes directly to both of their faces. He was glared at by James more than Jessie as her vicious thoughts were directed elsewhere, and his attempt to get some verbal contact from either of his friends had failed completely. The mood needed lightening more than ever. He went over to James and quietly asked him what was wrong, and an angry glance at Jessie acted as a sufficient response, so he went over to her to see if she could elaborate on the matter. For some reason, she seemed easier to talk to out of the duo for a change, and whilst she fought back the urge to break her hard image by crying, she said:

      "He saw pictures of me naked somewhere before and never told me, and then I caught him looking at the photographs that somebody sent to Giovanni"

      "The ones of you in the cave? He's your boyfriend and he was in them too. As twisted as I think you both are to be able to get into _that_ position, I was made look at them yesterday"

      "Oh great, now somebody else has seen me"  
      "Newsflash Jessie, I'm a pokémon, therefore I have no interests in seeing you look like that anyway, but I'm also around in the mornings when you get dressed. It wasn't just you in those pictures either, yet you seem to be taking this a whole lot harder than James is. He might be just as angry as you are, but not saying anything in case he starts taking it out on you"

      "Perhaps, but it wasn't the pictures of us having sex anyway. Somebody had taken pictures of me getting changed in the morning. There's also the fact that he's seen something similar before and not told me anything about them. He may not be taking it out on me, but that still hurts like hell"

      "Maybe that's why he never mentioned anything to you. You know that he only hides things that he thinks might hurt somebody, hence the reason why he never mentioned the ex- from hell that looks nearly identical to you. If you carry on with this behaviour, even more similarities between both of you might appear"

      "Maybe you're right, but he'll have to apologise to me first"

      "For what? Seeing his own girlfriend in a picture less explicit than what he's seen in real life?"

      "I knew you wouldn't understand"  
      "I understand the situation perfectly, it's just I don't see what's wrong with it. You've changed in front of him countless times, so what does it really matter if he sees you in a photograph?"

      "It matters a lot. If he's seen them somewhere before, he should have said something at the time"  
      "So you could work yourself up for nothing? If it's in the past, it can't be changed, so deal with it. You never know, it might just be memories of watching you getting changed that he's confusing them with. Why don't you try and talk to him?"  
      "I've told you before, there's nothing I can say before he apologises"

      "Why are you so thin-skinned about it? He's young, he's male, and if he's remotely straight, it's obvious that he'd want to look at them. You **do** know what curiosity is, don't you?"  
      "Of course I know that he should have a sense of curiosity, but the way I see it, he should also have a sense of respect"

      "And you certainly wouldn't dream of looking at pictures like that if he was the main image…"

      "What exactly are you implying?"

      "Double-standards. You hate the thought of him seeing a photograph of you getting changed, yet you found it wonderful when he saw you naked in real life. You don't know how recent those pictures are, and whether or not he had anything to do with them. Do you seriously think that he'd set you up like that? Or if he even had the time to leave that stuff with Giovanni when at least one of us had been around him for the entire time?"

      "I know he didn't leave the envelope, but what's worrying me is that he's shown us that he can convincingly hide information from us. For instance, if he wouldn't tell us about our targets at first, how can I trust him in later circumstances?"

      "Actually, he told me about the note minutes after he had found it, but he swore me to secrecy in case you found out and panicked needlessly"

      "I don't believe this. He told you before he told me"

      "I was at the balloon with him when he saw it. You also forget that he didn't screw me. You're his lover now, not his best friend. He's got to think about his relationship before he can even consider telling you anything now. It sounds harsh, but if he had told you about the note at that early stage of your relationship, chances are that you would have wanted to finish with him to increase safety, no matter how hard it may have felt at the time. He'd rather risk his life than end it with you, and I think it's about time you realised that"

      His last words stung Jessie with its impact, leaving her completely unaware as to why she suddenly felt so guilty. She wanted to break down and cry even more at this point, yet the desire to be alone if she was going to persuaded her not to do so just yet. James knew that they were talking about him from just one glance at them, but he kept his opinions to himself just in case he said something that he'd later regret. The more he dwelled on the subject of the pictures of his girlfriend, the more convinced he became that they were the ones that he hoped they weren't. At least he could hope that she wouldn't look at them too carefully, otherwise she'd know where he knew them from, and that would **not** be good for him. He swore to himself that he wouldn't tell her, but instead decided to tell the truth in the event that she did ask. He could hear her raising her voice at Meowth every other second and James found himself hating the whole situation. He wanted nothing more than to go over to Jessie and hold her until she forgot her anger, but he knew from past experiences that it would be an unwise move to make. Running his fingers through his hair, he found himself reflecting on the events that had taken place over the last few days, and he discovered exactly how tired he was as he continued to navigate the balloon. Even though he was putting as little force as physically possible on his leg, it still drained his energy whenever he had to stand for longer than necessary, pretty much like now. He saw Jessie rake her hair back with her gloved fingers for the third time since Meowth had started speaking to her, and after another prompt from the feline, he heard her snap at him to shut up and he felt knots tighten in his stomach as he saw he shoulders start trembling, indicating that she was crying. It made the image he had seen shortly before he had asked her out materialise in his mind and he instinctively went over to her to try and comfort her.

      She hated herself for crying in front of Meowth, and she hated herself even more for crying because she knew that he was right. She initially flinched when she felt James wrap his arms around her stomach and whisper in her ear if there was anything he could do to make her feel better. He felt her tighten under his touch, but he knew that she'd say something if she wanted him to move away, and she allowed her body to relax in his arms. He expressed regret to her for the way that he had acted towards her earlier, and although she had stated it clearly to Meowth that she wouldn't talk to him until he apologised to her, she hadn't actually believed that he would since it was all her fault for their temporary rift. He continued to whisper comforting words until he was confident that she had calmed down sufficiently before asking her if he could do anything to help her. She rested her hands over his and blinked away whatever tears remained in her eyes before saying:

      "It's my fault, not yours. I shouldn't have gone off the handle like that this morning, and I know that you didn't mean anything by it. You know I'd trust you with my life, don't you?"

      "Of course I do, although I'd like to hope that things won't become that serious"

      "Wouldn't we all? I don't know what's wrong with me lately, I keep wanting to blame someone for this crap and you seem to be the only one that I end up hurting"

      "I'd noticed that myself actually. You know I'm here for you, but I'm really beginning to dislike being blamed or shouted at whenever you feel like it. I know you don't mean to do it, but it's discomforting all the same"

      "I'm sorry, but I don't know how I can convince you that I don't mean to hurt you. The tension is building up in me, and it gets worse each time something else happens to us. It feels like this entire problem is causing our relationship to buckle"

      "It will only buckle if you let it. I know that I'm certainly trying my hardest for us, and I'm not willing to let these jerks ruin what I've wanted for so long. The choice is yours—either let these creeps separate us, or let me show you exactly how much I care for you"

      "Are you testing how much I value what we've got?"

      "There you go again, taking what I say and twisting them into something completely different. I'm not testing anything, I want to know if you want to stay with me and watch us become stronger, or if you want to leave me and eliminate any source of threat in your life. Whoever this is, they hate the thought of me loving you, so if we split up you'll be safe"

      "I can't believe that you just asked me that. You know I love you"  
      "I didn't ask you if you loved me, I asked you what you wanted to do about the situation"

      "When you love somebody, you'd go through anything with them, and that's what I'm going to stay with you right through this"

      "I was hoping you'd say that. So do you want to kiss and make up?"  
      "Since we've already done the second part of it, I've no problems with kissing you"

      She turned around in his arms to face him and allowed his lips to meet hers. All three of them felt like a great weight had been lifted from the atmosphere, even if Meowth wished that they'd save the mush for when he wasn't around. He didn't feel as ignored as he had when they'd first started their relationship, but it was becoming annoying when he witnessed them in a fight and then feeling each other up once all thoughts of the dispute had been forgotten. Since their attention was no longer concentrated on looking for the twerps, Meowth decided that he'd better get back to work in case they flew past them without knowing. He jumped up on top of the edge of the basket and he tried as hard as he could to ignore the sounds coming from the opposite side of the balloon. He sighed as he heard them, but suddenly his sharp ears picked up something other than the disturbing sounds being emitted by the young lovers. He used his keen eyesight to look down from whence the sound came, and he was able to see dust flying out due to the high velocity that a vehicle was speeding at. He squinted against the strong rays of the sun and tried to focus in on the moving vehicle and saw that it was a roofless jeep with two people in it; he was too far away to get a good look at either of them, but he did see a sharp glare bounce off something the passenger was holding in his or her arms, causing Meowth's suspicions to rise. He asked James to hand him a pair of binoculars, but his request remained unheard so he repeated himself louder this time. James felt slightly indignant as he was forced to pull away from Jessie, but he guessed that it was for the best to put a stop to their 'making up'. He handed Meowth the binoculars as Jessie rearranged her uniform back to what it should look like, and he asked him if he'd seen any rare or unusual pokémon. Meowth returned to his position and tried to focus in on the jeep without falling off the edge of the basket.

      She glanced up at the balloon and looked back up again immediately as she had seen Meowth looking directly at them. He disappeared momentarily after squinting down at them for a minute, causing her to angrily shout at her partner:

      "Shit, they've seen us! Why the hell didn't you tell me?"  
      "I was busy taking pictures like I'm supposed to, how come you didn't see them?"

      "I did see them, but by sheer fluke and nothing else. For fuck's sake, you're watching the balloon, it's not as if it's that big"

      "I was keeping the camera focused, which is quite difficult with your driving"

      "Well excuse me for not having a proper road to drive on. It's incredibly hard to keep this in a straight line with all of the junk on the forest floor"

     "Yeah right"

      "You weren't even meant to be taking any pictures, you were just taking them for your own perverted purposes"  
      "So what? You know what I think of her, and if there's any extras to come with this job, it's the ability to immortalise her in a picture that I can keep"

      Meowth returned a few seconds later with something in his paws as he repositioned himself on the edge of the basket, and she vehemently swerved into the thicker section of forest again, something that would probably cause the tyres to puncture at a later stage due to the sharp rocks that dappled the leafy ground. Meowth saw this and told his co-workers that he had seen people speed into the forest after he had seen them, and that they'd probably been following them all morning. Jessie automatically pulled at her uniform until it covered as much of her body as possible, and they set off to follow their interlopers. It shouldn't be too difficult to do as they had an aerial view of the region and the noise of the engine was becoming more obvious as the balloon was lowered. Fear, anxiety and adrenaline was felt in each of their bodies as the chase became more intense, none of them wishing to fail at what it was that they were doing, regardless of which side of the chase they were on.

      She was finally able to conceal the speeding vehicle as the forest surrounding them became more dense, but there was nothing that she could do to make the noise of the engine less perceptible to the trio that was breathing heavily on the back of their necks. It was extremely difficult to keep the jeep from speeding into the impending trees, and she could feel every nerve in her body constantly twitch from fear as consequences that could result from her partner's foolish actions sprang into her already panic-stricken mind. Just as they began to think that they were in with a chance of escaping without being sighted, the worst thing imaginable happened to them; both of their right side tyres were punctured as she swerved away from a steep, rocky edge of a waterway. She swore antagonistically as she felt the air steadily being released from their only means of transport, and Meowth's ears pricked forward as she shouted the obscenity out. He silently motioned for his cohorts to bring the balloon closer to where the sound had been emitted, and James followed Meowth's instructions as he manoeuvred the balloon as stealthily as possible in an attempt to make their presence unknown. He barely acknowledged the fact that his heartbeat was twice what the normal rate was, but he did feel Jessie squeeze his hand sharply for some moral support or something. He scanned the area swiftly with his eyes and noticed two people struggling with a jeep roughly thirty feet north of their present location, so he automatically steered in that direction.

      She heard a branch crack behind her and it alerted her of how small the gap between the hunters and the hunted really was. She grabbed her bag from the driver's seat and sprinted as far away from the balloon as she could, not realising that something fell out of it as she picked the bag up roughly. Her partner followed suit and once he had overtaken her slightly, he turned around and fired a flare into the meowth shaped skin of the balloon, causing it to hurtle to the ground gracelessly. Once they'd recovered from the slight jarring that had spread throughout their bodies from the crash, Jessie stood up with Meowth and began to run after their attackers at full speed, completely ignoring the possibility that they could be running into a trap. James found it next to impossible to get up from the awkward position that he had been propelled into from the force of the crash, and felt annoyed that his so-called partners had run after their assailants without a second thought for their safety. He stood up properly and struggled to follow his friends' unnatural speed to try and catch up to them before they were too far in the distance. Luckily for him, he had always been the faster of the two humans and finally caught up to them, even if he did think that it would result in eternal agony as he felt shooting pains course through the veins in his right leg as he repeatedly applied force to it.

      Low hanging branches repeatedly slapped against their faces as they enlarged the distance between both parties to a more comfortable size for them. Regardless of the facts that her eyes were stinging, her breath was short and the heels on her boots were giving the impression that they wanted to break off, she managed to allow herself a grin as she saw a sight before her that she had never been more relieved to see. She was just about to see what her partner's reaction would be when she realised that he was aiming another flare at the party behind them. Once it had filled the entire area that lay before their targets with an incandescent orange, he turned and followed his female friend once more.

      Jessie rested her hand against the side of a tree as she began coughing coarsely as the coloured smoke filled her lungs, unable to see clearly as her eyes rapidly began to water. James had wisely held his breath and covered his mouth before backing away from the irritating flare, but she had continued running, hoping that the smoke would only be released after she had run through the area. Meowth hadn't been greatly affected by it as his body was too low on the ground to receive too much smoke, causing Jessie to feel twice as stupid as she had initially thought. Once she had calmed her coughing down a bit, she hazily heard James saying:

      "What the hell did you think you were doing?"  
      "What do you mean?"

      "You disobeyed every rule regarding a person's safety and ran after people who are probably capable of murder when you think about what they've done to us in the past without a regard to them shooting us down moments beforehand"

      "It may have been foolhardy, but we've put them under pressure now and once this smoke clears, we can follow their prints. It might have been tricky to run in mud, but it at least appears to have served a purpose for us, don't you think?"

      "Jessie, the mud from the bank might have helped us in the long run, but you didn't know that at the time. You say you hated those pictures? What do you think they would do to you if they captured you?"

      "Look, that didn't happen so don't go there. If we catch these bastards then we might be able to sleep peacefully at night without having to look around us every other second. I for one want my life back"

      "I do too, but not at the cost of your life to get it"

      "Okay, so I acted irrationally trying to give a little payback for the hell that those two imbeciles have inflicted on us. I was trying to do you a favour and you throw it back in my face"

      "I'm not throwing it back in your face, but think about how it looked to me. You took off with Meowth without me for the second time in two weeks, heading towards the general area of where two creeps have not only photographed you in very compromising situations, but maybe it escaped your mind that they sent me two different notes involving your death. Nothing would be worth losing you, do you realise that? If I never saw those two perverts again for the rest of my life, I couldn't register that as a relief unless you were there too. Just supposing I wasn't able to keep up with you, and I later found both you and Meowth with your throats cut out, what do you think it would do to me?"

      "Alright you've made your point, but nothing happened, and I fully acknowledge that there was a great deal of risk involved with my actions. I'm sorry"  
      "I don't fucking believe it"

      "What? I apologised didn't I?"

      "It's not that, look where we are"

      "Shit!"

      The sight that had brought relief to one team brought misery and despair to the other; five yards in the distance was the all-too familiar sight of Viridian City. Any hopes of finding out who their assailants were had been dashed as mud was quickly replaced by concrete and tall buildings. James could tell that tears were forming in Jessie's eyes as well as watering from the smoke, and so he forgot his anger and held her in his arms to try and comfort her. Meowth straightened up since most of the smoke had vanished at this point and asked his friends what their prime objective was at that moment. James offered to pay for a hotel room for them that night since the danger of camping in the open had returned, but they'd have to return for their belongings first. The shock of it all caught up to James and he fell back against the tree he was standing in front of, thus bringing Jessie down on top of him. She stood back up again immediately and a fresh sense of irresponsibility swept over her as she realised the pain he went through to ensure her safety. The cruel sting eventually lowered itself to a dull throb and they slowly walked the distance that they had just run at high speeds.

      Quite some time later…

      The flare had shot from one side of the skin to the other, consequently eliminating all risks of their pitiful amount of belongings being burned. As Jessie gathered their possessions together and vanquished whatever smouldering rubber she could see, Meowth and James decided to investigate the contents of the jeep in hope of finding out some hint to their attacker's identities. Vindictively, James sat in the driver's seat and snapped the key in the ignition to prevent it being used easily again. He unpicked the lock to the glove compartment and thumbed through what was there, feeling disgusted as he saw items that went in various stages of perversity. He tossed the items back into the glove compartment and began to search through the other items that remained, when something came back to haunt him from his past. He saw all of the letters that he had sent to his aunt Alexandria after he had run away from home, and most of them included some information that not even Jessie knew about him for perfectly good reasons, realising that it must have been the next bout of ammunition that they were going to launch against him. He checked that Jessie wasn't looking before shoving the entirety of them into his pockets, motioning to Meowth not to say anything about them. Meowth rolled his eyes in response to the request and decided to check the vicinity of the jeep for anything else whilst James continued to search the contents of the car. Searching through the mud, he managed to spot what the girl had dropped in her hurry: the cell phone that their employers used to give them their daily instructions. As James continued his search throughout the jeep, he found his camera, which confirmed his sneaking suspicion about the last batch of photographs; they had been taken, by him, when they were still seriously drunk on his birthday. Speaking of which, he didn't have a clue what to get her for her upcoming birthday in case she didn't like what he had been planning. It was only as he was finishing up that he realised something a little more dangerous that he hadn't thought about before: theoretically speaking, if he sent those letters to his aunt, it should mean that they were either taken from there, or that she had something to do with it. He seriously hoped that it wasn't the latter of the options, she had always been the favourite of his relations, even surpassing his dearly loved grandfather, but then again there was always the way that he knew something about her that nobody else did and vice versa. She had 'earned' herself a special place in his heart due to something that had happened to them over time, but he had kept his oath of silence and never mentioned what it was to anybody, no matter how hard that had proven at times. He was jolted out of his thoughts by the hood of the car being opened and saw Jessie using her vindictive streak by pouring sugar in the engine. They wouldn't have used that particular bag again in case it had something to do with James' poisoning, so in reality they could be returning something that they had given them.

      In 'The Silver Bullet', a well-established public house in Viridian City at 17:00 hours…

      Still highly frustrated from his partner's incompetence in losing their only source of contact with their employers, he entered the fairly busy tavern and asked one of the bar attendants, Carlos, if the owner was around. He went into the back room and brought his boss out as he had been requested before returning to his work. She smiled upon seeing who it was and asked him what he wanted. He met her smile and handed her something before saying:

      "Hey Elora, I was just wondering if you could tell me if either of these people have been in today?"

      "Nope, but damn that guy's cute. Do you know if he's single?"  
      "Hate to disappoint you but he's presently screwing that girl. And how come you never called me cute?"  
      "Because I didn't, okay? Wait a minute, isn't this the girl you kept comparing me to?"  
      "Yes, but it's the highest form of flattery, I can assure you. Will you do me a favour if either of them do happen to come into here over the next while?"

      "Depends on what's in it for me"

      "The pleasure of my company for when you're finished work"  
      "I get the impression that I'd have been offered that even if I said 'no', right?"

      "Maybe, but you don't want to see me beg in public now do you?"  
      "What else is in it for me?"  
      "I'll take you shopping tomorrow and buy you whatever you want"

      "I think I'll pass. Besides, I have plans for tonight with someone else that don't involve you. What do I have to do?"

      "Put two of these in every drink they order, and after the third lot of drinks, show them this 'competition'. Can I have the security tape, should they decide to participate?"

      "I don't know, what if the pub gets burgled?"

      "Trust me, the only thing that will be stolen is their dignity after the 'contest'. You'll enjoy it if he joins in. If somebody does burgle this place, I guess you can have the tape, but since I'm arranging this whole thing…"

      "Oh all right, you can have the tape, but I'm not sure about the drugs. What are they?"  
      "Harmless. It won't kill them and it won't do their bloodstream any damage. Oh, I almost forgot, give these to the 'winners'"

      "No probs. So, will you be in later too?"  
      "I'm a little busy tonight actually, but I might come in later to see if they did"

      "What makes these two so special? Or do you do this to all of your friends?"

      "Trust me, he's no friend of mine. Do you remember the project I mentioned the other night?"  
      "You mean the last time you stayed over?"

      "Yes"

      "No, I have no idea in the slightest. You should know by now never to tell me anything before I go asleep, I get too tired to concentrate on whatever someone's saying at that time"

      "Can we go in the back? I don't fancy telling you here in case the wrong people get wind of it"

      "Sure, come on through"

      James was lying back on the bed in the cheap room he had agreed to pay for, barely paying any attention to what Jessie and Meowth were saying to him, as Alexandria's safety was his main concern. Of course, he couldn't mention that to either of them as it would involve revealing a large part of his past that he had fought to stay hidden, and that was the way that he'd like to keep it, at all costs. Jessie cooked their food in the evening and he decided to try and convince Meowth not to say anything to her about what he'd put in his pocket (he later hid it in one of the books that he'd taken from his room in Growly's house). He didn't know which was worse, the chance that his aunt was injured if not worse, or the chance that she had something to do with the whole mess that he was in.

      Roughly 21:00hrs, in the cheap hotel…

      James was teasingly kissing Jessie along the nape of her neck in the bedroom, thankful to have some time alone together. She knew that he had been acting strangely lately, but as much as she wanted to ask him if she could make him feel any better, she was finding it extremely difficult to say anything from the way that he was making her feel as he ran his fingers over her skin. Yet again they didn't do anything serious, but he kissed her somewhat differently than the way he usually did, even though she couldn't actually put her finger on what it was that was unusual about it. Unfortunately for her, he eventually pulled back and asked her if she felt like going out anywhere since they were in a large city. She smiled at him and asked him if he wanted to go for a drink or two, since they hadn't actually been out anywhere since officially going out with each other. He agreed, and, after they changed out of what was left of their uniforms, they decided to go somewhere a little low-key in case Giovanni was also in the area. He called to Meowth that they weren't sure what time they were intending to be back and they headed to The Silver Bullet since they'd been there before, and James paid for the first round. One of the barmen said he'd drop the drinks over to them and they sat in a corner booth, excited at the whole concept of being out together. Elora sighed to herself before explaining to each of her staff what to do with each of the drinks they ordered, wondering if it was really worth doing. Still, it should be interesting if the 'competition' took place…


	12. September 12th, 2000

                                                Tuesday, September 12th 2000

      Sunlight gradually met two extremely tired pairs of eyes, and neither human was grateful for being woken up hours earlier than previously intended. James knew that something was different, but no matter how hard he thought about the matter, he just couldn't place it. He sat up a little and cracked the bones in his back as he was very stiff for some reason, and Jessie had the same feeling that something wasn't quite right. She sat forward and kissed her boyfriend whilst she tried to wake herself up; unable to shake the desire to sleep much longer than she normally would, not to mention the killer headache she had. As a general rule, neither of them tended to get hangovers, regardless of how much they had drunk the night before. Since both of their bodies were strangely weak from the night before, he fell back on the ground with her on top of him, and instead of doing something useful like trying to work out what they had done the night before, they began to kiss and fondle each other shamelessly to pass the time. It was all going well for them when James felt something under Jessie's t-shirt that he hadn't in previous sessions. He was perplexed by this and pulled back from her lips before taking the foreign item out of her t-shirt; curiosity having overthrown his lustful hormones for the time being. Jessie didn't know what he was doing, and was beginning to feel self-conscious until she saw him take something out from under her t-shirt and start laughing. She asked him what was wrong and he handed her what had been around her neck, causing her to groan and laugh out of embarrassment at it. It was a silver medal with the words 'Second place winner in this year's regional strip-a-thon competition' inscribed on the back. Once James had a somewhat firm grip on reality once more, he suddenly realised something important.

      "Didn't I pay for a room yesterday?"

      "I don't remember. Where's our stuff?"  
      "With Meowth somewhere, I guess. Are you sure I didn't pay for a room?"

      "I vaguely remember that, but if you did pay for one, shouldn't you still have the key?"

      "I don't know. Get up for a second so I can check my pockets please"

      "No problem"

      Jessie moved back to her original position and stared at the medal for another couple of minutes, trying to successfully recall any piece of information about the previous night's events and failing. As James continued to search for the key to the room that he supposedly paid for, Jessie began to realise that they hadn't intended to sleep in the middle of the forest without their supplies and in their only half-decent looking clothes. She picked at a couple of twigs that had embedded themselves into her hair at some point during the night until she finally heard James say that he did have the key. 

      He tried to stand up, but he found out that his body considered that it was definitely **not** a good idea. Dizziness consumed his every thought and he rested against a tree until his surroundings decided to stop running around him, making a light sense of nausea enter his stomach. Once he could see straight again, he asked Jessie if she knew the name of the hotel, since the key only had the number on it, but she was as clueless as he was.

      "Where was it we went last night anyway? We might be able to work out where we started out from"  
      "I think it was the place we used to go to when we first joined Team Rocket"

      "The Sliver Bet?"  
      "I think it was something like that"

      "If we went there, then chances are that we stayed in that cheap hotel again"  
      "Which one?"

      "Do you remember the florist?"

      "Vaguely. Is that opposite from the tattoo parlour?"

      "Yeah, it's on that street. Do you remember it yet?"  
      "Barely. What if that's not it?"  
      "Well, lets see if it is it first. Do you think you can walk without passing out yet?"  
      "Probably. I think you'd better get up before you tease me about being light-headed. Have you seen my underwear?"

      She shook her head and stood up, but although she staggered a bit at first, she didn't have as much difficulty with moving as her boyfriend did. He rubbed his eyes once more and they looked around them to see which way they had come from in the middle of the night, and they slowly set off once they were certain of the route. Neither of them realised that the reason that James appeared to be more hung over than Jessie was, was that the drugs that had been slipped into their drinks were mingling with the medication that he was on for his leg. He knew that he wasn't supposed to have drunk anything containing alcohol, but Jessie had seemed so happy at the mere prospect at going out that he had momentarily forgotten the rule about alcohol/tablets.

      Whereas the sunlight in the forest had failed to do any favours for their alcohol-induced hangovers, words failed to describe what the sun did to them once the tall, sheltering trees had disappeared. They took the scenic route to try and avoid being sighted by anybody from Team Rocket, and they reached the hotel they hoped was the right one an hour and a half after waking up. Embarrassed, James asked the receptionist if that key was to one of their rooms, but much to his horror, he found out that it wasn't. He grumbled out some sort of gratitude to the receptionist for his assistance and told the bad news to Jessie, who had been waiting outside the building to get as much fresh air as possible. She looked as downcast as he had upon receiving the information, and they continued walking along the street to try and see a building that might jolt some memories into either of their heads.

      Forty-five minutes later…

      Jessie and James entered the correct hotel room noisily and they collapsed on the bed together, wanting nothing more than another few hours' sleep after traipsing around a busy city for nearly two hours in search of a room that hadn't been worth booking. Meowth followed them into the room and brazenly said:

      "I knew that you didn't know what time you'd be back at, but this really is ridiculous"

      He received a strange look from each of his partners that should probably have been a pair of glares, but due to the present circumstances, they were totally unrecognisable. James firstly asked what time it was, and then changed his mind mid-sentence and asked if the room was en-suite. To his sheer delight, he found out that it did have a shower, and that it was half past two. The latter information was less interesting. He stood up again and received yet another head-rush in return before heading for the shower with his uniform to try and wake himself up, hoping that his headache would have disappeared by the time he was finished. He rubbed his eyes again and turned the shower on to let the water heat up a bit whilst he began to undress himself, which appeared to be more laborious than usual. His back was incredibly sore for some reason, and he could only presume that it was due to sleeping on the ground _without_ checking for large roots first. As he took the only decent black shirt that he owned off, he felt something fall back on his torso. He looked to see what it could be and he laughed when he saw what it was and decided to leave telling Jessie until later. His head felt less heavy when he was finished with his shower, and he decided to apply some more cream to his leg before it aggravated him too much. He stayed away from the painkillers in case there were any remnants of the alcohol inside him, having actually remembered the dangers of mixing the two substances, and then he dried himself off a bit. He decided that they probably wouldn't be doing much of anything that day, let alone even considering work as a possibility, so the amount of clothes that he put on amounted to his boxers and his traditional white trousers. The atmosphere was too sticky to seriously contemplate putting a t-shirt on, and he left the room to see how Jessie was feeling.

      He went over to her and kissed her until she complained that his skin was too damp for her liking. He sat back a little and asked her if she could remember anything about the previous night yet, and her answer was negative. She looked at him as he sat slightly beside her and found herself wishing that Meowth would just disappear for twenty minutes. She rested on her elbows and noticed a smile playing across James' face as he looked at her, causing her to ask him what was wrong. He tossed her something out of his right hand and asked her to read it before mysteriously adding:

      "I guess I'm definitely better than you at something"

      She read the inscription on what he had tossed to her and she blushed upon reading it, before saying:

      "There's no way you're better than me in it!"

      "I guess there is a way and that's it. You came second only to me, you should be flattered at being compared to me"

      "Flattered?! You're male, and I'm quite sure that's the only reason you won!"

      "Of course it is. Just keep telling yourself that…"

      "Hey!"

      "Hey what?"  
      "Um, what exactly are you two arguing about?"

      "Jessie's jealous because I beat her in something, even if it is embarrassing"

      "Meowth, who do you think has a better body?"

      "I am **not** answering that! What happened last night?"

      "Um, try asking us when we're sober"

      "We apparently took part in an annual strip-a-thon or something. I don't remember doing it myself, but **he** still beat me!"

      "It might have to do with a dance or something you did at the time, but is it really worth disgusting me with the details?"  
      "There's nothing revolting about the human form. Unless you've got really ugly scars like I do"

      "That's another thing—how did you beat me with scars like that, and surely you couldn't take your trousers off easily with not only the cuts themselves, but what about the whole aspect of being say, I don't know…**drunk** maybe?"  
      "Come on, it's not that bad losing to me, unless it was either all-male or all-female, and then I'd definitely be worried. And aren't you forgetting that you were drunk too?"  
      "Will one of you **please** feed Me-owth? Just because you aren't hungry doesn't mean that I'm not"  
      "Sure thing, I'll feed you since I don't think Jessie looks capable of moving too much in the next while"  
      "Try and keep your few clothes on in the meantime, unless last night gave you a taste for it!"

      "Don't worry, I'll make sure he doesn't take anything else off"

      He leaned down and kissed his girlfriend again just to make sure that they were only mock-fighting in their argument before turning around to get Meowth some food. Jessie's eyes widened by what she saw and tried to call him back before he was out of earshot, but unluckily for her he'd already left the room, meaning that she'd have to get up. Groaning, she dragged herself out of the bedroom and followed her friends to talk to James about what she had seen. Before she was given sufficient warning, James tossed her a pokéball and cheerfully said:

      "Good, now you can feed Arbok!"

      In a more expensive room in a different hotel…

      She lay back on her bed, feeling utterly depressed after not only losing the cell phone, but also because she had returned to the jeep in the previous evening and found it irreparable due to the extensive damage that had been inflicted to it. Her partner had taken it out on her repeatedly the night before, reminding her of her idiotic mistake at every chance he'd gotten. At least she'd had the sense to ring their employers to inform them not to ring the phone with any other instructions in case her ex- had found the phone. She'd barely slept throughout the night, from both crying her heart out and also due to the noises coming from her partner's bedroom, and the fact that he'd treat any other woman with a sense of respect was starting to bother her. She'd been contemplating eating something for the last couple of hours, but she didn't know how volatile her partner was still feeling. Her insides felt extremely tight from the tension and depression she was suffering from, and there was nothing that she could say to herself that could make her see how the situation could become much worse. She was stuck in a job that she didn't want, she dyed her hair repeatedly to a colour that she detested, but what hurt most was that she was made watch the only man that had won her heart fall completely in love with another woman. She'd tried to stay away from any prospect of a new relationship in case they hurt her like James had, but no matter how hard she fought against it, she was beginning to get feelings for her partner. She had decided a while ago that she kept them to herself for a while, as he already threw them back in her face by frequently screwing women he'd probably never lay eyes on again. Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door and her partner entered without waiting for a response from her. She looked away from him as he sat beside her and heard him gently ask her if she was feeling okay. She felt him rest his hand on the hip furthest away from him and ask her how she was feeling yet again, his touch making her want to scream for him to either get away from her or to beg him to hold her, she wasn't entirely sure which option she'd prefer. Since she couldn't trust herself to make any type of verbal contact without making her sound like a stupid young girl with a crush, she remained silent as he continued to try and coax her into talking.

      "C'mon, talk to me. I'm sorry for last night, I should never have gone at you like that"

      "Sorry doesn't always cut it"

      "Look, I didn't mean any of those things, and if I could take them back I would"  
      "But you can't, and you don't seem to understand that. I'm not one of your little tramps who you can say anything to and they'll forget it as soon as you screw them"

      "You know I don't treat you like that, and I was more than a little on edge last night"

      "If we're supposed to work together this closely, you're going to have to treat me with a little respect"  
      "Have you eaten anything yet? I don't remember seeing you out of this room"

      "That's because I haven't eaten anything. Did you seriously expect me to go anywhere near you after what you said to me last night?"

      "Will you give me one more chance? If I ever do anything to hurt you again, either physically or mentally, then you can begrudge me for the rest of my life, just please talk to me again"

      "What's going to stop you doing something like that again?"

      "You have my oath, and it's up to you whether or not you think I hold some depth in those words. What do you say?"

      "Alright, but I swear this is the last time"  
      "You won't regret this! Now, why don't you tidy yourself up a bit and go and sit on the couch for a while and I'll make you whatever you want. Once you have your dinner, I'll show you the funniest thing you'll see in a long time"  
      "Which is…?"

      "All in due time, but trust me, you'll forget how you're feeling now, even if it's just for a little while"

      "Okay, but I if don't like it, you'll hear about it. Understood?"

      "Perfectly. So what do you want me to make for you?"  
      Jessie fed Arbok as she had been requested, still staring at James whenever she got the opportunity. He was beginning to notice her watching him, but he didn't say anything whilst he fed Meowth and the other pokémon that _hadn't _tried to kill him recently. Once they were finished, Jessie went over to him and asked him if it hurt, a statement that confused him completely.

      "What do you mean?"  
      "Does-it-hurt?"

      "I'm sorry, but you've lost me. Does what hurt?"

      "Your back"  
      "Um, yes, it's just from sleeping on the ground last night. Why?"

      "It's not from the ground, trust me. My back's kind of sore too, but yours _isn't _from the ground, this I can assure you"

      "What are you talking about, and why exactly are you looking at me like that? Have you been drinking again?"

      "No I have not!"

      "Why do you keep asking me about my back? Is there a cut on it or something?"  
      "No, only the coolest tattoo that I've ever seen!"

      "Seriously?!"

      "Seriously. How much does it hurt?"

      "Well, I thought I'd just slept awkwardly on roots or something, so I guess it doesn't hurt too much. Whereabouts is it?"

      "It's quite big, and it's spreading from one shoulder to the other"

      "What does it look like?"

      "It's a really detailed mythical creature facing me, well obviously not facing me but you get the picture. It's half-standing, half-crouching as if it should be facing to your right, but its head and front claws are turned towards my direction. There's a manacle around its neck with some links hanging off it, and its eyes look angry, as if it's trying to protect something. One of its front claws looks like it's grasping the ground, and the other looks as if it's preparing to launch an attack, and there's this weird fiery glow around the claw in the air. Its tail is slightly curled and its wings are stretched out pressed flat against its back, much like its ears. It really is breathtaking to look at, once you ignore the red skin around it that is"

      "Trust me to get it done on a body part that I can't look at!"

      "At least you got it done somewhere where there's a chance that the public might see it, unlike if you'd had it put elsewhere"

      "Hey, that's my body that you're mentally tattooing! Get your head out of that gutter"  
      "My head was **not** in the gutter"  
      "No, but I know exactly where it was"

      James turned around to face his girlfriend and slid his arms around her waist to pull her a little closer to him before kissing her lightly on her lips. He wasn't entirely certain, but he could have sworn that he had heard Meowth make a few sounds to suggest that he was about to get sick into his bowl of food at their performance. Once it became apparent that his inkling had been correct, Jessie pulled back to glare at the feline in question and asked James what he wanted to eat, as she was actually feeling like cooking for once. He said that he'd have whatever she wanted to eat and moved back a bit to give her some more space in the small cooking area as she began to prepare their food. He was finding it hard to believe that he had actually had a tattoo done, yet at the same time he was annoyed that he couldn't see it. He suddenly remembered the cell phone that Meowth had found and went into the bedroom to look at it properly, hoping that he'd see something that could give them a clue about their annoying assailants. By sheer luck, the phone was still on from the previous day and he looked around in the options to see if he could find any numbers that might have some relevance to him, like an attacker's home number or something. Most of the numbers didn't mean anything to him, but he sat up and paid full attention to the phone when he realised that both his 'home' and Alexandria's numbers were in it, indicating that they had the potential to threaten or attack them should they wish to taunt him further than they already were. Fear returned to his thoughts once more and he searched around in the options to see what the last numbers dialled on it were, but much to his horror, the battery died before the option was given suffice time to load. He was contemplating telling Jessie about the letters, but the more he thought about it, the more uneasy he felt about telling her about the past that he had fought for so long to remain hidden. He was stirred from his thoughts by hearing Jessie tell him that his meal was ready, and he told her that he would be out in a moment.

      She pointed and laughed hysterically at the screen with her partner as they watched their nemesis' enrapturing display from the previous night's 'competition'. Once she had finally gasped enough air to talk properly, she pressed the pause button on the VCR remote and said, in between laughs and intakes of breath:

      "She looks like a giant flapping Pidgey!"

      "I agree, in fact I'm not sure if I think she looks great"

      "Just look at the way she's trying to keep her balance—even if I was drunk I 'd have more sense than to stand on a table of that size with four inch heels on whilst attempting to take my bra off"

      "It gets funnier, trust me"

      She pushed the play button and watched as an embarrassing event unfolded—after failing to unhook the item in question, she needed 'assistance' from James before slipping on a spilt drink and ending up on the ground, flat on her back. This induced more laughter out of both the pub and the people watching the recording, the whole performance being nothing short of priceless, especially as she struggled to get back onto the small table again to continue her routine.

      "I told you that it was worth it, didn't I? Wait until we get onto her other half's performance, now **that's **worth watching!"

      "He's in it too?"

      "Naturally. You didn't expect me to have one person have all the fun, now did you? If it brings back bad memories, you don't have to watch it"

      "And miss out on what you say is hilarious? Not a chance!"

      "I was hoping you'd say that, just watch this bit when she tries to take her trousers off"

      Forgetting to take her boots off before pulling her trousers off resulted in another trip to the floor for Jessie, only this time James didn't go near her as she [the assailant] soon found out the reason why. Barely noticeable, Elora had made her way over to him and had started kissing him either to keep him distracted long enough for him not to notice his girlfriend, or for her own pleasure, or perhaps even for both reasons. Jessie somehow managed to get her legs out of the pesky material and sit up on the bar, wrapping her legs around the nearest barman. She leaned forward for what probably should have been a sexy kiss, but she leaned forward a little too readily and knocked their foreheads together. He untangled himself from her legs and she managed to finish her 'performance' without many more embarrassing incidences, leaving just her locket on at the end of it, finishing with a bow and returning to the booth after walking into only two tables in the process of recollecting her outfit. Elora left the booth as Jessie was on her return journey moments before James felt like he shouldn't let his girlfriend have all of the fun.

      He made a show of getting on the same tiny circular table that Jessie had fallen off of twice, and he actually possessed the sense to remove his footwear first. He found the buttons on his shirt particularly complicated for some reason unknown to him, but once he'd undone all of them, he received a cheer from the now extremely busy pub and he threw the item of clothing into the air. Unfortunately for him, it landed on his head and he was so drugged up that he couldn't figure out why the world had suddenly gone invisible. He must have become panicked in his confusion as he kept spinning around with the shirt on his head, trying to get colour back into his vision. Moving repeatedly in an awkward manner on a badly injured leg and a small table generally don't make a good combination, and this was no exception. The table tipped back completely and he grabbed the nearest person to him to prevent the fall being as harsh as it could be, which unluckily was a well-built man in his late thirties who was holding a pint glass. The good news was that the man was straight, but the bad news was that he was twice as heavy as he looked when he landed on top of James after the fall. The entirety of his pint was emptied onto the shirt, which actually acted as a good thing as James removed it, realising that it held the potentiality of suffocating him. Once he was able to see again, he realised that someone was trying to get off him, and his common sense must have penetrated his hazy mind, as he remained stock-still as the man got off him. He lay there for a moment, and she thought that he might have gathered enough of his own thoughts to realise that he shouldn't be doing that, but to her relief, the show wasn't over yet, in fact the most embarrassing part was yet to come.

      A tipsy young, blonde woman helped him up and informed him that it was her birthday, and James must have thought it something less than courteous if he didn't acknowledge it. He took his belt off and moved her towards him by sliding it around her back until he held both ends of it and he kissed her in response to her comment. Whereas he could have left it at that, he thought it would only be the right thing to do if he climbed onto the bar and picked up an empty beer bottle to suffice as a microphone whilst he sang 'Happy Birthday' severely out of tune, dedicating the rest of the routine to her. Instead of using her name in the song, he filled it in with 'Melting Ice', as that was the brand on beer bottle that he was holding. As one final gesture in his performance, he gave her his boxers before returning to Jessie to get dressed, without walking into any tables. Carlos went over to them and gave them their medals for being the 'best two' in the competition as well as the complimentary drinks from the staff for their source of amusement for the next few weeks. James' shirt was still too soggy to wear, but they somehow were competent enough to put the rest of their clothes on. She was extremely disappointed by the time that their targets had left the pub as she had heard Jessie suggest something about tattoos, which in her opinion should have been highly entertaining. According to her, there are few things that should be ignored in life, and this footage was definitely **not **one of those things. She felt sorry to have to press the stop button, but once she had, she turned around to face her partner and thanked him. He shrugged and replied:

      "I shouldn't have snapped at you like that last night, and when I watched it last night I knew you'd like it. Elora was glad for the business I gave her last night anyway"  
      "I do not need to know the inner workings of your sex life, it was bad enough hearing you last night"

      "I wasn't talking about my sex life, in fact that wasn't Elora last night. I was talking about the crowd in the pub. Didn't you notice the difference in people in it before Jessie started stripping and when James was singing?"  
      "What did you have to do with this?"

      "I supplied the medals and 'information poster', and a few tablets to get them in the mood"

      "WHAT?! What did you give them?"  
      "Nothing lethal, in fact it won't have any side-effects other than complete memory loss for last night"

      "Are you sure that's all?"  
      "And a hangover-like headache, but if they went to the pub, they'd have that anyway"

      "What if she finds out about this?"

      "She won't. It's nearly impossible to trace and it won't be there, should she somehow be able to take a blood sample if she does find out"

      "You should have told me first, I could have taken some photographs to add to our gallery"

      "I wish we had some, but then again it might not be as amusing if the pictures don't move. Imagine how much a copy of this would sell, especially when she forgot to take her boots off!"

      "I think we've just got ourselves a new toy, but only if you're certain we can make copies without ruining the original"  
      "I know how to do it, believe me. How much should we charge per copy?"  
      "Maybe we should try and auction them off. Do you think we should send a couple of complimentary copies to Team Rocket Headquarters?"

      "Maybe Giovanni will go easy on them after seeing how incompetently they can act whilst drunk. After all, he's already found out what they sound like when they're intoxicated…"  
 Later in the evening…

      Jessie James and Meowth had decided to go for a walk around the city to view the sights in the twilight (Jessie protested that it was under no circumstances that it was to get some fresh air for their hangovers), and it really was quite astounding to look at. When it was nearing twenty to ten, they bought some light food and they ate it whilst they sat on a bench in the park, one of the few remaining green areas of Viridian City. The sounds around them released a relaxing atmosphere and they were gradually becoming so comfortable that they began wondering how to get back to their room without the effort of getting up, until Meowth heard a call from what would probably become his next proper meal. He jumped away from the bench and stealthily crept in the direction that he had heard the call come from, deciding that he should start his hunt a little earlier than anticipated. Jessie slid up the bench and rested her head on her boyfriend's shoulder as he ran his fingers through her hair, melting at his touch. He stopped after a minute and told her to sit forward, seeing that she was becoming drowsy from the position she was in and he advised her not to fall asleep for the second consecutive day in a public place filled with trees. She laughed sarcastically before turning and kissed him, _without_ knocking foreheads this time, and the level of passion in their kiss steadily grew, both wanting something more than what it was that they were actually doing. James eventually pulled back and whilst he was looking into her eyes, he softly whispered:

      "Will you sleep with me?"

      "HERE?!"

      She replied a little louder than she had originally intended, causing everyone in the park to turn and look at the pair of them, knowing what she was talking about. Mortified beyond belief, she apologised to him and lowered her tone as she said:

      "Now?"

      "Even though I didn't really want the whole city to hear that, I meant when we get back at the hotel, but it's okay if you don't want to"  
      "No, I like the sound of it, it's just I guess I wasn't expecting you to say it"

      "So, do you want to do it then?"  
      "Of course I will, but only if you get protection this time. I'm not sure if we should tempt pregnancy"

      "I'm not either, which is why I suggested it before we'd gone away from the shops"

      "Do you want to go then?"  
      "You're coming with me!"

      "But I don't know anything about them!"  
      "I don't either if you think about it"  
      "But it's embarrassing!"

      "So was your little 'here' comment, but I was still a part of it. Not by choice, mind you…"  
      They realised that they were being watched again so the embarrassed couple left the bench for the nearest drugstore, avoiding as many pairs of eyes as possible. James dragged Jessie into the building, unimpressed as she headed for the make-up section at the back of the store. She wasn't looking at anything in particular, merely staying as far away from the counter as possible whilst James tried to coax her into going with him. She was adamant about staying in there and he eventually asked her what he should get, forcing her cheeks to illuminate the area again. Tired of arguing with him, she advised him to 'grab the first ones you see that have the kite mark, pay for them and get out of there as soon as possible'. As simple as her plan sounded, she still refused to go near the counter whilst he put it into action. Frowning back at her, he picked up the box nearest to him and moved forward by a foot to pay for them. why do they have to be right here next to the cash point?!. He tried to avoid looking into the sale assistant's eyes as he stood there whilst she entered the sale. She put it into a bag (which thankfully wasn't see-through) and after thanking her, he realised that she was looking at him strangely. He asked her if he could help her, and the assistant grinned broadly upon the sound of his voice, thus perplexing him further. He asked her if he knew her in anyway, to which she squealed in delight and said:

      "I just loved last night, thank you!"

      Noticing that he was still looking at her like one would at a lunatic, she suddenly looked hurt and James felt guilty, although he wasn't entirely sure why he should be. He assumed that she was referring to his 'strip-a-thon entry', but he was unable to recall any of it, let alone remember somebody's face. She looked like she was on the verge of tears, and he asked her if he could help her with anything, and she perked up immediately.

      "You sang 'Happy Birthday' to me last night, don't you remember? I was fairly tipsy at the time because it was my birthday celebrations and everything, but even I couldn't forget something like that"

      "I did?"

      "Yes! Don't you remember?"

      "Last night's very fuzzy, and I don't remember any of it. Are you sure I sang to you?"  
      "Of course I'm sure, you even gave me a present and everything!"

      "Well, I'm sorry miss, but I don't remember that"

      "That's right, you didn't know my name and you called me _Melting Ice_ in the pub last night. It's Joanne by the way"

      "Isn't _Melting Ice_ a brand of beer?"

      "Yes, but you only called me that because that was the name on the bottle you were using for a microphone. Hang on a second, I don't think I've emptied my bag yet, maybe your present's still in it. Would you mind signing it?"

      "Ummm…"

      "Great! Now let me just check to see if it's there"

      Tired of looking at the same pitiful selection of cosmetics, Jessie glanced up to see what was taking her partner so long, her eyes widening in surprise as she saw some girl handing James his supposedly missing underwear from the night before. James was really beginning to regret picking that drugstore out of all of all of the ones that were in the city, but he reluctantly signed his 'gift' with a silver pen to shut her up, wondering how it came to be in her possession anyway. He was turning to leave once she was distracted with his 'autograph', but he was caught off his guard by her saying:

      "So who are the condoms for? Are you going out with the guy from last night?"  
      All colour drained from James' face as she said that, and he stuttered out:

      "Guy?!"

      "Oh good, you guys aren't an item. My friend bet with me that you were gay"

      "Trust me, I'm not. I have nothing against it, it's just not my cup of tea"

      "Great! So, are you doing anything tonight?"

      "Yes, he's going out with me. Thank you for your service, but we have to go now"

      "See you around James!"

      Once they'd finally left, Jessie hissed:

      "Who was she?"

      "I think I might have done something humiliating last night, she was mentioning something about a guy I was with"

      "You told me you were straight!"

      "I am! I'm going out with you aren't I?"

      "Just checking. Do you think the pub would have a security camera or anything?"  
      "I guess it's worth a shot, but what if it wasn't that pub?"  
      "We'll have the same scenario we had this morning. Let's try it tomorrow, I've had enough of this place for one evening"

      "Are you still in the mood?"

      "Yes. I'd hardly refuse the world's cutest stripper, after me that is, especially when he has the coolest tattoo"

      "Dammit I want to see it!"

      They left for the hotel room with a fresh sense of excitement coursing through their bodies, unaware that their female assailant was following them in the shadows to learn their exact location. Once she'd overheard what number they were staying in, she rushed back to her room to tell her partner, certain that this information would redeem her respect from both him and her employers…


	13. September 13th, 2000

                                                Wednesday, September 13th 2000

      Jessie woke up to find her boyfriend kissing her gently at around eleven o' clock, and she decided that it was an alarm clock that she would like to use to wake up every morning. She responded with quite an amount of passion, which was surprising considering that she'd only just woken up. She slid on top of him once it had been established that both of them felt tempted to continue from where they'd left off the night before, but the moment was lost when she caught the cut on his hipbone. He sat up completely and repositioned her so that she was on his thighs instead, nearly the only part of his body that wasn't causing him pain for one reason or another. She realised that she must be hurting him and said:

      "Sorry, I didn't think I'd catch it. I didn't hurt you too much last night, did I?"  
      "You did, quite a lot actually, but I feel that the pain didn't act as too much of a distraction"

      "I'm so sorry, I just didn't think. How sore is it now?"

      "It's not too bad now but it was fairly bad last night"

      "You should have said something"

      "I think other parts of my body would have disagreed with that idea"

      "We could have moved until you were more comfortable, I feel really guilty now"

      "Don't worry about it, it'll be gone with a painkiller or two. So how was it?"

      "How was what?"

      "What do you think?"

      "Oh right, I was still side-tracked with your hip. I thought last night was amazing, although it's hard to say if it was better than our first time. I really wished you'd have said something about the pain"  
      "Hey, it's only payback for when I 'hurt' you the first time. I don't know which is better either, but I don't think we can compare it to the first time properly, even with those idiots with the camera"

      "I think the only comparison that we can definitely make is that the floor of the cave was warmer and more comfortable than this bed was!"

      "Yeah, I know! Sleeping off the hangover in the forest was better than that bed!"

      Whilst she was waiting for her partner to wake up, she had decided to look through some of the things that James had given to her throughout their relationship. It pained her to look at what she once had with him, especially when they had both seemed so determined to make things work out at the time. Uncertain why she was doing it, she took the charm bracelet he had given to her out of its box and put it on to see how it looked on her now. She had just closed the clasp on it when she began to cry uncontrollably; heartbroken at losing the only man that she ever truly loved, even if it was quite some time ago. Upon hearing her partner get out of bed in the other bedroom, she gathered up the trinkets and put them back into the box with one exception; she left the bracelet on. She rubbed the remaining tears away and checked that the box was completely hidden before leaving the room to say 'good morning' to her partner. He was in very crumpled trousers, indicating that he'd slept in them and looked like he was in desperate need of some rest and she asked him what time he got back in at, and he shrugged, saying:

      "Don't know. Four, five maybe"

      "Who was it this time?"

      "I didn't lay anyone, if that's what you're implying. I was sent to get our new method of transport"

      "What is it?"

      He looked a little livelier when she asked him that and told her to make a couple of guesses before he'd tell her. After five guesses, she revealed how deep her abhorrence was for guessing games truly were. He yawned and said:

      "It's the coolest sports car I've ever seen, and it's ours to keep!"

      "Seriously? I'd have thought that they'd stick us with a tractor or something after the jeep incident. What colour is it?"

      "Indigo, and it doesn't make me look like a fag either"

      "Good, but you won't be driving. If I got stuck with driving the jeep, I get this too"

      "That's not fair!"

      "Yes it is, but won't a car of that colour make us more obvious when we're in the woodland?"

      "Yes, but I guess we could spray it. Even if it is a lovely colour…it's really quiet too, you wouldn't hear it coming"

      "Did you ask for the rest of our money?"  
      "I got some of it, but apparently some of our wages went towards paying for the new car and cell phone. It's probably just an excuse, knowing them"

      "Yeah, I know what they're like with giving us money, it's a wonder they hired us in the first place. Have you made any copies of the tape yet?"  
      "Wasn't given a chance to actually do them yet, but I bought the stuff I'll need"

      "Think of the money we'll make"

      "I know! I think if we charge $40 per copy, and sell forty copies…"  
      "Isn't $40 a bit steep?"  
      "Think of the content. We'd probably be able to sell it for $50 if we pushed it"

      "The extra money would be nice, but what if our employers find out?"  
      "How could it get back to them that it was us selling them?"

      "I guess so. Give me the keys to the car"

      "Why?"  
      "I want to have a test run, that's why"

      "Wait a few minutes until I'm properly dressed and I'll come with you"

      "Hurry up then"  
       The car ran just as smoothly as he said it did and she had to strain to hear the engine as she drove around the city. Her partner still looked groggy from getting back later than usual, and it was only when she was contemplating returning the car when he suddenly remembered something that they had been told to do. He unfolded a piece of paper that he had been given and wrote what he was told to in the same blood-red pen that he had used in the other ones and told his partner to park near the hotel where their targets were staying. She turned the car and headed down the same street that she had followed them down the night before and asked what the note said whilst she parked the car. He read it out to her and showed her the piece of paper, and she looked at him in astonishment, surprised at what it said.

      "Do you think he'll take it seriously?"  
      "I would anyway, given everything we've done to him so far"

      "That's harsh, even for my standards"

      "Yeah, I know. I swear that woman's creeping me out at this stage. What a dump they're staying in!"

      "I guess we only think that because we're staying in a five star hotel. Pass me the note please"

      She took it from him and entered the hotel alone, deciding that it was better than worrying about someone else after she had delivered the note. She asked at reception what number their room was, but they wouldn't give it to her until she said that she was supposed to meet with them. The receptionist turned to one of the bellboys and asked him to notify them of their guests. She was asked to wait in the reception until they were down, and she panicked at this; if she stayed, her identity would be revealed, but if she ran out it would cause a disturbance and they'd check the surveillance system. She waited until the bell boy was just about to leave to tell the young couple and ran over to him that she'd left the car running, and asked him to leave a note with them explaining that she'd be back in a moment. She handed him the note and thanked him, and then she left to 'turn the car off'. She saw that her partner had taken the liberty of sitting in the driver's seat whilst she'd been running their errand and after mock glaring at him, she sat in the passenger's seat whilst he drove them back to their hotel. He asked her if she had slipped the paper under the door as ordered and she told him what had happened due to the unforeseen events.

      "I suppose we can't hope that everywhere we go will have the same standard of security that Ebony Town did"

      Upon hearing a knock on the door, Jessie moved away from her boyfriend slightly and told him to answer it. He gave her a look as if to say 'Don't even think about it', and she persisted at him until he finally said:

      "How can I get up if you're on top of me?"  
      She promptly slid off him, taking particular care with his stab wound.

      "I'm not now. Go on"

      "It would be easier if you went"

      "You're wearing more than I am"  
      "THAT doesn't count!"

      "It does as far as I'm concerned. Now get up and I'll keep the bed warm"

      Grumbling slightly, he called out to whoever it was to wait a moment as he pulled on his jeans and opened the door as he finished buttoning them. He was surprised to see a bellboy and found out that a woman had left them a note and was presently waiting for them in the foyer. James immediately knew that this sounded suspicious and asked him to describe her, knowing that they weren't supposed to be meeting anybody.

      "She was a real looker, that's for sure. She had a really good figure, black hair that was tied back, a red and white strap top and dark jeans. I didn't get to see her eyes because she had these weird sunglasses on"

      "Thanks, but if you see the lady again, could you tell her to meet us in the café at one? She knows the place, because if I didn't see her this morning, that would be where I'd meet her later"

      "No problem sir. Anything else I can do?"

      "No, that should be sufficient. Thank you for the message"  
      James shut the door and after going into the kitchen momentarily to throw the 'rubbish' away from the night before, he took his jeans off and rejoined his girlfriend's side in the bed. He kissed her lightly and touched her gently, still on a high from the night before, wishing that he hadn't needed to get up at all. She pulled back before she allowed herself to get too comfortable in his arms again and asked him who was at the door. He tried to pull her closer to him again, but she wouldn't let him until he gave her a direct answer. He sighed and sat up, knowing that their moment would be paused until he told her what had happened. She used the same technique as before to getting him to do what she wanted by asking him a few times, and the more he remained silent, the more of her body she concealed from him. As he had perfectly working male hormones, there was only so long he could resist telling her the story.

      "Who was at the door?"

      "You'd know if you'd answered it"

      The covers were just above her naval at this point.

      "Alright I'll tell you, just leave the covers out of this!"

      "So that's how you see me, eh? Who was it?"   
      "A bellboy. He had a message for us and somebody wanted to meet us in the lobby"

      "Who?"

      "He described a woman with black hair, and that could only be the woman we were chasing the day before yesterday"  
      "Do you really think so? How would they know where we were?"  
      "I don't know how they knew where we were, but the main worry is whether or not they've taken anything that could be given to Giovanni like the last time"

      "You don't think that they'd have seen us last night, do you?"

      "I can't say anything for certain, after all I'd have thought we were safe in the cave. I don't think they could have seen us last night anyway, after all, the only window's in the kitchen and it's frosted"

      "Why didn't you go and see her in the lobby and find out who it is?"  
      "First of all did you really expect her to still be there? If it was me, I'd have left the instant I gave the note…"

      "Note? What note?"

      "You don't want to know, trust me"

      The covers were at the middle of her throat at this point, and she had a death-grip keeping it in place.

      "There's no way you're keeping anything else back from me, now what did the note say?"

      "I don't want you to panic, so keep calm until I've told you everything about it"

      "You're starting to scare me"

      "That's what I was afraid of. Somebody had sent something else addressed to me and it said 'Spot the difference, if you can'"

      "Go on"

      "I'm not sure if I should Jess, I know you'll panic and I don't want you to. Trust me, I only don't want to tell you because it'll scare you"

      "I'd rather panic than not know, and I'd rather you didn't tell me what I should and shouldn't hear"  
      "Calm down Jessie, there's not point in getting angry with me"  
      "Then tell me"

      "Somebody wrote 'Spot the difference if you can, they're both bitches' above a picture of the Growlithe we buried and…and…"

      "That's sick! What did you have to spot the difference with?"  
      "Positive you want to know?"  
      "Certain"

      "Someone had used one of the pictures of you in the cave lying down in almost the same position as the Growlithe was, and…"

      "Yes?"

      "They'd altered it via computer so that all of the wounds on the Growlithe were duplicated on you"

      "I'm not sure I understand"

      "Let me assist you. You know how the stomach of the Growlithe was cut out with its innards spilling out?"

      "Yes"

      "Somebody had made it look like your stomach had suffered the same fate, and that applied to all of the wounds that had been inflicted on the Growlithe, including its eye and throat"

      "W-was that all?"  
      "No. At the bottom was another message saying 'This won't be imaginary for long, you treacherous bastard'"

      "So someone's going to murder me, and they think that you've been unfaithful to them"  
      "As it would seem. I was going to tell you, I was going to tell you later so your day wouldn't be ruined until after you got up"

      "Is this that bitch you were engaged to?"

      He shook his head and said:

      "Don't call her that honey, I've already told you that I made it up with her after I left. This isn't her style; if it were her that wanted you dead, she'd make it known. She always made sure that everyone knew that it was she behind something, even if it appeared unladylike at times. Plus, she would have done it directly after I had my parents' will changed when her jealousy was at its peak"

      "Now let me see, how many other people would like nothing more than going to my funeral just to piss on my grave"

      "Jessie, please don't talk like that. We can move anywhere you want today, be it across the city or across the world, I don't care"

      "And if we do, we'll be stalked there too, don't you see that? We'll be like this until the end of our lives, and they'll probably end them early too"  
      "Jessie, calm down. If you want to, we can stay at my house for a while. Sure, I can't stand my parents, but it's worth it if you're safe"  
      "If we were able to break in, what would stop anybody else doing the same?"

      "We didn't break in exactly, I knew the weaknesses in the security and codes, these people don't. They might know a hell of a lot about my past, but they can't remember what we've never discussed"

      "That's fine in theory, but what if they do find them?"

      "There's more than sufficient security guards at my house, not to mention all of the escape routes and hidden passages that nobody bar a family member knows, including the servants. They were never told of them because a butler attacked my great-grandmamma and she couldn't escape from him, until he'd finished and left her with grandpapa"

      "That's horrible"  
      "I know, and that's why anybody who knew the passages were fired immediately. It sounds harsh now, but unfortunately it was necessary at the time"

      "I can understand why it happened, but are the passages hard to find? I know how much you hate your family status right now, and I don't want to go there if there's a chance it turns out to be as 'safe' as anywhere else"

      "Every single worker found anywhere near them are 'released from the pressures of their work' almost immediately. Nothing's more important to me right now than your safety, and if it means a family reunion to accomplish that, so be it. Besides, I've found two new people to hate so they shouldn't be all that irritating in comparison. Otherwise, we could just break up"

      "I don't want that, I… fuck it, I just don't know what to do anymore"

      She broke down completely at this point, feeling extremely tight on the inside as she cried into his chest. He held her close to him and tried to soothe her, but nothing appeared to be working to make her calm down, not that he had much experience in comforting people when they became aware that persons unknown wanted them dead. He wished that he hadn't gone near the door, their emotions having converted from ones of love and overall bliss to fear and angst in the span of a few moments. The pictures had scarred his thoughts with their images, leaving him haunted with possibilities of what might happen to the woman of his dreams if they acted carelessly with anything that they were threatened with. He kissed her on the top of her head and asked her if she wanted anything, but she was still crying too bitterly to answer him, if she had heard him at all. He grew tight at the mere thought of staying with his parents again, but if it meant Jessie would be guaranteed safety, well then it would easily be worth it. It was really irritating, to say the least, not knowing whom their attackers were, as well as not knowing how, why or where they were receiving their information about him from. He didn't know what to think on the matter anymore; he would readily stay with Jessie if it were his life in the face of danger, but since it was hers, he didn't know whether or not he should break up with her. He loved her and wanted nothing more than to stay with her forever, but was that thought being more than a little selfish? Jessie finally got a grip on reality, but she wouldn't give a straight answer to his offer of staying in his house for a while. He asked her if she wanted anything, but she just rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand, picked her clothes up and locked herself into the en-suite without saying anything to him. He sighed and got up, deciding that there was no point in staying in bed all day when he had pokémon to feed and a girlfriend to calm down. He applied cream to his lacerations and took two painkillers before getting dressed; last night had hurt him much more than he was letting on to Jessie.

      He said good morning to Meowth, who was cleaning himself on the floor, as he released the other pokémon from their balls, and asked the scratch cat how he was. He had caught the noctowl that they had heard in the park the night before, and it had turned out to be quite a large meal once he'd found somewhere to eat it in peace. He asked James what was wrong with Jessie to make her storm out of the bedroom naked, but he couldn't give a feasible reason for it. He explained what was on the note for the second time that morning, replenishing any feeling of depression that had managed to disappear since he had got up. Meowth could clearly see how hard James was taking this and began to wonder why Jessie had acted like it was him that she was angry with and not the people responsible for it. She could hear every word that her friends were saying whilst she was huddled on the floor, not having bothered getting dressed yet. She knew that she was acted irrationally by staying there, but she needed some time to think about the note on her own. James had been trying really hard to make her cheer up, however the only advice she needed to hear at this moment was from deep within her own thoughts.

      Enough copies of the infamous footage had given them what they had always wanted; something that could help them to make a handsome profit from without much effort involved. At this moment, they were on their way to the Viridian City gym to donate a couple of free copies at the Team Rocket section of it, mainly for another bout of humiliation whenever their targets were due to collect their salaries again. They used the same cover-story as before and headed for the reception, knowing that they stuck out like a sore thumb as every other person in there was a member in uniform. The receptionist was reaching for the security button, but the female lowered her sunglasses and said that they had a private delivery for Giovanni. The receptionist didn't recognise the woman, but she told Giovanni that there were two people there to see him. They were allowed in with four guards as escorts and he seemed surprised to see them, as he was positive that he'd seen them there before, even if their appearance had changed since the last time he'd seen them. He stood up, astounded, and bellowed out:

      "YOU!!!"

      "Yes, us. Now, rumour has it that you enjoyed the last 'present' we left with you. If that is true, you should be interested in what we have to offer you"

      "Proceed"

      "Would you kindly remove our escorts before we reveal our deal? It seems so impersonal this way"

      "As you wish. Guards, you're dismissed. Would you both sit down, if you intend to strike a deal with me?"

      "Certainly. First of all, we understand that the photographs and tape were sources of amusement for you, is that correct?"

      "You know what my feelings towards James are, and the tape you delivered was most useful. However, it has come to my attention that the pair of you have been distracting them from their duties, as it surely does to your own"

      "Yes, but if we continue with our work, we will be able to find more ways of reducing their salaries, thus saving you money"

      "The tape was apparently recorded in June, how am I supposed to believe that you can produce more of the same quality, or if they'll continue slacking off from their work?"

      "This was filmed the night before last. This is merely a demo tape, the proper version is seven times as long and far more explicit"

      "What is the content?"

      "Both of them decided to take their clothes off in a public house not far from here for no particular reason. It is a well-known fact that rockets go there, and they dragged the name of this corporation through the mud yet again by their actions"  
      "What makes you think that I would be interested in it?"

      "Mainly because Jessica is topless for almost the duration of the demo, and she's completely naked in the real one"

      "And…?"  
      "It's common knowledge that you show a certain level of interest towards her, and by viewing this you would be given the opportunity to reduce James' salary again, due to his 'undignified' attitude"

      "What makes you think that I would reduce his salary and not hers?"  
      "Favouritism. Of course, there's the matter of our side of the deal"

      "Which is?"

      "We don't want any money for this instalment, we just want to be given your permission to follow your agents and ensure that they act as members of Team Rocket should" 

      "We would also like tickets if you decide to accept the full version of the tape"

      "You've just marched in here, and now you're demanding that I give you tickets that you don't deserve? What makes you think I'd give them to you?"

      "Nothing, but if you want the tape, we'll want the tickets"

      "We can give you as many photographs of Jessica naked that come into our possession, as an added bonus of course"

      "Fine. Permission is granted, but is it necessary to knock the shit out of him?"  
      "Yes"

      "Why?"

      "I'm afraid that's classified information. It might give him a backbone and he might actually do some work in his life"

      "And if he dies?"

      "Think of it this way, he could die from shock and nobody would be able to pin it on you. Think of the money you'd save per annum without him on the team"

      "Indeed. Is that all?"

      "Actually, we were wondering if you could behave like Jessica donated this, like the last time. It would reveal that she regrets her actions, whereas James would try and keep the knowledge away from you"

      "That appears plausible enough. I shall enjoy conducting business with you, if you hold as much competence as you seem to possess"  
      "Thank you sir for accepting our offer. Here's our number, should you decide to accept our offer"

      They stood up and shook hands to seal the transaction, and once they were outside again, he turned to her and said:

      "That was superb, how did you know it would work?"

      "I didn't, I made it up as I went along!"  
      "I thought he was going to kill us from the way he looked at us when we first entered the office"

      "What will our employers demand us to do once they know we've received tickets, presuming he accepts?"

      "Why tell them?"

      "That's true. Do you fancy going for a meal? I got so hungry whilst we were in there, he made me feel so nervous"

      "Okay then. I'm driving!"

      "That's not fair!"

      "Yes it is"

      "Whoever drives, pays"  
      "Fine by me"  
      "Drat!"

      Although she had eventually emerged from the en-suite fully clothed, she hadn't eaten or said anything to anybody and it was four o' clock at this stage, causing her friends to begin to seriously worry about her. She was presently sitting on the bed looking fairly distant, and she had been deliberately avoiding eye contact with both of them, with the exception of the glare that she had given Meowth when he had asked her if she wanted anything, which had been well over two hours ago. James decided to make something in the kitchen for her and Meowth went over to her again to try and get her to say something, even if it was just to snap at him. She remained silent as he tried to coax her into talking, and he could tell that she was on the verge of shattering the wall that was making her so withdrawn. Tears entered her eyes unexpectedly and he tried to find out what was wrong without her feeling like she was pressurised into answering him, and she ended up crying bitterly into her knees. James felt terrible as he heard her crying, but he continued preparing her food in case she blamed him for interrupting her thoughts or something. He hated to admit it, but she had been acting like a loose cannon all day and she seriously needed to snap out of it, one way or another. He finished getting her food ready to bring over to her, hoping that if she were intent on ignoring him, then at least she'd look after her body. She scowled at him as he handed her the dish and he was at a loss as to what he should do to make her feel better, or at least less grouchy. He sat beside her, and once he realised that he hadn't said anything to suggest that she wanted him to leave, he turned her face towards her and whispered:  
      "Tell me what's wrong and I'll try to fix it"

      No response.

      "If you want me to leave you alone, just say so. I'll respect your wishes"

      "No, please stay"

      "What's the matter?"

      "I know I've been a total basket case today, it's just that that note terrifies me, and I can't see how we can ever lose these freaks permanently"

      "Nothing lasts forever, and this won't. It's hard now, but we'll eventually be rid of them. The thing is, do you want us to survive through this, or do you want _us _to survive through this?"

      "You know I love you, don't you?"

      "Yes, of course I do"

      "Then I think it's for the best if we break up. Not permanently, just for now to let this thing sort itself out"

      "Is it what your heart wants, or is it only what your head thinks?"  
      "My heart wants us to stay together, but it's getting too risky. I hope you can understand why"

      "Yes, I do completely"

      "I don't want to break up either, but what else can we do?"

      "Like I said, I understand completely. If you'll excuse me, I have some stuff to do. Enjoy your meal"

      He left the room, fighting back the tears until he was as far out of hearing range as possible; he knew he'd asked her repeatedly if she wanted to leave him for her own safety, but deep within his soul they were shallow promises as he didn't think they'd actually be accepted. He sat on the same bench he'd sat on with Jessie, finding that it seemed like it had happened a lifetime ago, as opposed to the night before. He was seriously screwed regarding what to get her for her birthday that was in five days; what he had bought for her a while ago seemed completely pointless now and he didn't have enough money to buy her anything else half-decent. In the hotel room, Jessie was still on the bed crying for all she was worth when she thought about how shattered he had looked when she'd told him her decision. She had been hoping that he'd talk her out of it or something, but what freaked her out was how he'd accepted it without standing up to her, showing how much he cared about her, and how easily she had let him leave. She moped as she ate her dinner, feeling worse than when she had first heard the news about the note; at least then, he had been holding her in his arms. She tried to control her emotions and asked Meowth if he'd come with her to look for him in the city once she had eaten everything on the plate, and he agreed, merely to keep her in some sort of good humour and they took the key as they tried to find their friend. They saw him down the street with his back to them, using a public payphone to call someone. Neither of them could hear the conversation that was taking place, but they could tell from his body language that he was upset about something, and Jessie knew exactly what it was. They walked until they were barely in hearing distance, so if they heard him it would make it look less obvious they were eavesdropping on his phone call. It was fairly annoying that they couldn't hear the other side of the conversation as he was talking pretty intensely about something, and Jessie was slowly becoming less certain that it was entirely about her.

      "YOU DIDN'T EVEN MISS THEM?!"

      "What hope is there if you didn't even realise someone had been in your house and stolen them? Check to see if there's anything else gone"

      "Well I didn't mean right this instant. If anyone finds out about it, well you know what would happen"

      "I can't afford for anyone to find out about it, **especially** Jessie and Meowth"

      "Nice threat, but I don't know how you could tell them"  
      "Don't start that up again please"

      "Seriously now, I've seen them so often that I'm completely paranoid at this stage. These jerks aren't helping either, and the more I think about it, the less of a link I can make. It just doesn't make sense"

      "Why would it happen there of all places, unless…"

      "You can't think THEY'RE involved, can you?"

      "It's not, they've been too frequent for that"

      "How can I? She probably already thinks I'm weird"

      "Yeah, like I believed you at first. What do you think it would do to her if I did tell her? Drive her further away from me, that's what"

      "An hour ago"  
      "I AM NOT!"

      "I really love her, but what can I do? She obviously doesn't feel quite the same"

      "And how would you know?"

      "What happened between us was not a relationship, and you know that as well as I do"

      "I often miss it too, but we both knew it wouldn't last"

      "I'm not _that_ desperate thanks, at least not yet"

      "Do you think I should try asking them? It seems fairly risky to mention it in case they have nothing to do with it; I don't want to look like I'm blaming them"

      "That's a good one, when have they ever expressed any concern towards me. They're both self-centric imbeciles, and I honestly don't know how I put up with them for so long"

      "I'm almost out of change again, so would you mind if I call you again later?"  
      "Thanks, and don't forget to check that the rest of the stuff is still there"  
      "You know how I feel about you, I don't know what I'd do without you in my life"

      "'Bye Sash"

      Jessie was devastated by his ending sentence and quietly whispered to herself:

      "I don't believe it, he's found someone else already"

      Meowth looked up at her as she said it to herself and was going to ask her if she was all right when he saw James turning around to face them out of the corner of his eye. He had been surprised to hear him talk about two people as imbeciles that sounded suspiciously like them, but since that was only how it appeared, he didn't say anything in case it started another argument between the three of them. All colour in James' face disappeared as he saw them there, not knowing that they had heard his supposedly private phone call. He saw how upset Jessie was, but since he didn't know how much of the conversation they had heard, or how much information regarding his past he had revealed on his side of the chat, he tried to assure himself that she was still feeling weepy from the way she had been before she had broken up with him. He cleared his throat and asked them how they were, receiving the silent treatment in response to his question. His throat was becoming dry as he stood there and the last thing he wanted was a confrontation in the middle of the city at rush hour. He walked a little closer to them, but stopped when he saw Jessie take a couple of steps backwards, showing that she was uncomfortable at his presence. She looked close to tears again and he asked her how long she had been there, barely acknowledging Meowth's existence. She refused to reply and he moved closer, repeating his question, and when he was almost beside her, she turned and ran down the street. Ignoring the strange stares that people were giving them, he ran after her and mentally cursed at the pain that was searing through his leg as he did so. Meowth was also hot on her tracks and caught up to her first, but he brought himself to a halt once he had realised that he couldn't make her stop, but he did manage to see that she was crying. He decided against following the teenagers to leave them with a little privacy and moved onto the side of the pavement to avoid being trodden on. James met her pace and held her shoulders as gently as he could to try and stop her, but she just shrugged violently to get him off. He grabbed her shoulders again and pressed her against an old wall to get her to face him, again using minimal force, and asked her why she wouldn't talk to him. She turned her head away as he asked her that and she felt lower than usual as she felt a few tears fall from her eyes. He begged her to talk to him for the countless time that day, and it was when he turned her head gently to face him that she finally snapped out:

      "Haven't you done enough for today?  Can't you just piss off and leave me alone?"  
      As she had been the one to break it off with him, he was left confused by her attitude, and her words stung him more than anything she had said to him in the past. Whilst he was beginning to contemplate telling her the nature of the phone call he had made, she did something that made his mind up readily for him; she dug her right thumb into his sore hipbone with as much force that she could apply. The searing pain burnt its way through his body and he doubled up instantaneously as a result of her harsh action, wondering what he could possibly have done to infuriate her to this extent. Regret could easily be detected in her eyes, but she had wounded James more than in the physical meaning; she had shown that she could use her knowledge of his lacerations for her own sadistic pleasure. She tried to apologise for doing it, but the only thing that she got as a response was a glare whilst he tried to calm down the scorching pain that she had inflicted on him.

      "Happy are you Jess? Proud that you made me suffer?"

      "I-it wasn't like that, I didn't mean to…"

      "Really? It looked pretty intended to me"

      "James, look, I'm sorry"  
      "Jessie, look, I don't care"

      "I've tried apologising haven't I? What more do you want?"

      "Why are you still here? You wanted me to piss off, yet you're still here. Alternatively, was it perhaps that you wanted me to do all the work whilst you did nothing? Or maybe I'm not privileged enough to remain in your presence by this old crumbling, graffiti-covered wall, is that it?"  
      "James, if I could take it back, I would"  
      "Are you sure? You've managed to give a pretty good demonstration that you don't care what happens to me one way or another today"

      "Of course I care about what happens to you"

      "Then why the hell did you just pull that little stunt? Or have I got a 'hurt me' sign on my back that I don't know about?"

      "I suggested that we ease off for a while for the benefit of our lives, and not even one hour later you're talking to some woman that you've had a fling with before to see if she wants you. My choice wasn't altogether easy you know, and you don't…"

      "Shut up for a minute, if it's possible"  
      "What did you just say?"  
      "Apparently it isn't. You don't have a clue what that _private _telephone call was about, who it was to or how I know her"  
      "I know you've had a relationship with her in the past"

      "So you heard that, did you? Well then, you'll have heard me say that I wouldn't define what I had with her as a relationship. Fuck it Jessie, I didn't even arrange to meet her at any point in the near future, and I don't intend to either"  
      "Who was she?"

      "I can't tell you that, otherwise you'll fly off the handle before hearing me out"

      "Just tell me who she was"

      "Some other time maybe, but certainly not here"  
      "Dammit James, why not?"

      "You wouldn't understand if I told you, and I refuse to talk about it here, if I'll tell you at all"

      "What's that supposed to mean?"

      "You've treated the dirt far better than you have me today Jessie, and after your last little performance I don't know whether or not I can trust you"

      "When are you going to stop throwing that back in my face?"  
      "Whenever you decide to grow up. I can barely breathe, let alone walk after what you just did. 'I really wished you'd have said something about the pain'"

      "Lose the falsetto voice"

      "'I didn't hurt you too much last night, did I?'"

      "You're just being immature"

      "Shame that, isn't it? After all, last night was **_so_** wonderful for you that you just felt obliged to ditch me today"

      "I didn't ditch you, as you so blandly put it, and I explained my reason for doing it"

      "You couldn't survive two weeks as my girlfriend. You were truly happy for the first time in quite some time yesterday, and I don't know what's happened to you today to make you act like this"

      "Someone wants me dead"

      "Back at you. I'm sorry for making you hate me for whatever reason you may hold, but if it's purely because I rang someone without telling you, I think you should check into a psychiatric hospital. You don't want me, but nobody else can want me either"

      "It's not that I don't want you"  
      "You knew how serious this was before you even found out about this morning's note. You knew it right from the time I was beaten up"

      "I'm so sorry James, you know that hurting you was the last thing on my mind"

      "I'm sorry too. I know why you broke up with me, but this rejection hurts ever so slightly more than any other I've faced. Hell, I broke up with enough people to be in with a chance to get with you"

      "Really?"  
      "If truth be told? Yes, about five different women got dumped because I finally thought I had enough courage to ask you out, and each time I lost it before I could finally get you alone"

      "I had no idea. Why didn't you tell me about it sooner?"

      "To sound like a total stalker?"

      "I guess so. Will you please forgive me?"  
      "I don't know if I can yet, you've hurt me more than ever before Jessie. I can't stand up, and at the moment I can't even consider processing the mere thought of forgiving you"

      "Talk to me"

      "Didn't you hear what I just said?"  
      "Come back to the hotel room then if you won't talk to me. You can take a couple of painkillers or something"

      "Since I'm narcotic"

      "I didn't say that, but at least me help you; anything's got to be better than staying there all day"

      "I wouldn't be like this if you hadn't done it to me in the first place"  
      "Let me help you back to the room, at least you can ignore me in a more comfortable position"  
      "What makes you think I'm not comfortable now? Squatting like this could just be what the doctor would have ordered, had I visited one"  
      "Don't be stupid James, I can see every wince you make as you say something. You're in pain so let me help you, and please stop fighting with me"

      "Leave me alone Jessie, I'm fed up listening to you whinging on how sorry you are, when all the while you not only put me in this position, but you were intent on eavesdropping and running away from me without an explanation. This isn't the first time you've done something like this, and I'll bet it's not the last"

      "How can you say that? Don't you trust me?" 

      "Trust? You actually know that the word exists?"

      "Stop that"  
      "No. You left me in the hospital when you thought I'd kissed someone else. You get in a bad mood when I think the pictures look familiar. You ditched me and then when you see me talking to someone on the phone, you think I'm over you already. And you dare question me about trust?"  
      "So what if I've screwed up a few times, big deal. It's human to make mistakes"

      "But the mistakes **you** made were inhuman"

      "I'm not listening to your rubbish anymore"

      She rubbed angrily at her eyes to remove any trace of her tears before taking off down the busy street once more, leaving James glaring after her. He tried to straighten himself but doubled up the second he had stood up due to the pain, and it hadn't just been a tactic he had been using to make her feel guilty; he was seriously in pain. Once the fiery pain possessing his thoughts had been soothed, he suddenly realised a vital piece of information that he had overlooked throughout his argument with Jessie; she held the only key to the hotel room and he couldn't take any medicine to make his hipbone feel any easier. He hadn't wanted to say any of those things, especially when he had mimicked her, but he refused to feel guilty regarding his actions. After all, it had been her that had made him feel lower than he knew possible when she had said those painful words to him earlier, and it had been his solitary method of venting his pain and hurt without hitting someone, which had seemed tempting far beyond belief when he had first sat down on the bench. Jessie walked back to the hotel using the route she had initially run down, and people were still looking at her oddly. She primarily thought that it was because evidence of her tears was still visible until the truth sprang into her thoughts; she had been crying whilst wearing her cheap mascara. She kept her head down as she picked up her pace, feeling heartbroken, humiliated and alone simultaneously. Whilst she continued to walk with people staring at her as if she were just some form of test dummy from a factory, she would have been extremely grateful of Meowth's company at that time, except he was nowhere to be seen. Entering a restaurant to wash away the dark streaks that were on her face, Jessie decided that although she might feel depressed, there wasn't any point in being ridiculed about it by strangers. Seeing that the hotel room was still too far away for her liking, she thought that she might as well take a look around the shopping centres to kill a little time once her face was clean again.

      An hour and fifty minutes later…

      James finally made it back to the room that he was paying for with his nerves still on edge from his argument with Jessie. He had spent the best part of an hour trying to eliminate the pain from his hip, and once he'd regained the ability to walk the worst thing possible happened to him once he had headed back towards the room; all feeling disappeared from his hip and he began to waddle rather than walk due to the numbness, causing people to laugh at him, making him feel as humiliated as he felt hurt. Just to make matters worse, the room was still empty when he had reached it, leaving him with no other option than to sit on the floor and wait for Jessie to come back. Of course, there was always the possibility that she was inside the room and ignoring him for what she would see as a form of payback…

      Upon receiving verification that Giovanni wished to do business with them, they were on their way towards Team Rocket Headquarters once more with the copy of the tape, which was _virtually _untouched. By virtually, they had altered the tape so that there was no evidence of the contest in the content to make it appear that they had decided to remove their clothing in public for no apparent reason. Malevolently, they had also developed a few copies to donate to members of the organisation in order to 'boost team morale'. They were more than slightly irritated, as they had received their call in the middle of one of the tasks that their other employers had delivered for them to do. At least they had finished it and sent the item to their owner, awaiting the return of the item, which would no doubt be a twisted, edited version of it. They handed the worker's tapes in at reception and they waited until they received permission to enter Giovanni's office, but this time they were able to enter without the assistance from any of his 'escorts'. They made their arrangements with him solid through a two-week introduction contract and they failed to miss the look that he gave them when they discussed the matter of his 'bonus', and it made her feel uneasy as she signed her name; he was disgusting her far worse than anything her partner had said regarding his desires to get with Jessie, and Giovanni wasn't even saying anything too explicit. There was no mistaking the twisted smile he gave as he looked at the tape- he was probably arranging his evening's entertainment- and she was left feeling chilled to the bone as he turned his smile away from the tape and towards her, and she could tell what he wanted from her. She pulled at her top in a manner similar to what Jessie had done when they had been sighted in the forest until as much of her skin around her chest was covered up. This was actually quite an achievement in itself, considering she was only wearing a thinly strapped t-shirt, and he wouldn't remove his gaze from her. She folded her arms to try and remove his gaze from her 'attributes', and panic swept over her (although she didn't actually show it) as he asked her partner to leave them alone for a minute to discuss matters further. Luckily, her partner noticed her disgust and said:

      "We're a team, so whatever happens to one of us happens to the other. In view of the fact that we can't guarantee that when we're separated, you must discuss your opinions and questions in front of us both"

      "If that is the way it is to be, then I'm quite sure you wouldn't mind explaining the reason why you're doing this anyway. Whatever else I have been called is debatable, but I am certainly not a fool. Who is it that you are working for?"

      "As my partner explained yesterday, our employers' identities are undisclosed. We are not prepared to reveal the fact that we're working for you to anyone, and we will maintain that same respect for our employers"  
      "I don't believe you know what I'm capable of doing to you if you withhold any information that may be deemed valuable or that I may require at a later date"

      "Rest assured, such information will be revealed immediately, but until it is necessary, their names shall not be revealed. Is that all?"

      "For now, yes. Don't forget what power I hold, because it will be set on you the instant I hear that you're concealing valuable information from me"

      "It's been a pleasure doing business with you, and we'll send you whatever you might consider 'entertaining'. Enjoy the film"

      "Certainly"  
      "Tickets?"  
      "Oh, of course. You are aware of the venue from your 'targets', if that's what you call them, are you?"  
      "Yes, thank you. We'll inform you of any further disrespectful attitude as soon as we see it. You have our number, should you wish to speak with us again"  
      "Thank you"

      He stood up and shook hands with both of them to show their business relationship wasn't merely formal, and yet again their was no mistaking where he looked whilst he shook hands with her, but she forced a smile anyway and released her hand from his. Once they had left the office, she told her partner to wait outside for a minute whilst she visited the facilities, except she scrubbed at her hands until she felt certain that Giovanni's touch had vanished from it. She dried her hands and began to find herself wishing that there was a similar remedy for the feeling that was around her stomach after the way he had been looking at her like a piece of meat. She was also feeling guilty about the item they had stolen; whereas they had successfully stolen James' camera and Jessie's underwear, there was no chance of this item remaining unnoticed…

      James was beginning to grow restless as he continued to sit in the corridor; people kept staring at him as they walked past him and there was the general ambience of pain and guilt shrouding his thoughts. His hip was beginning to act up again, but there was nothing he could do about it until he was able to get the medicine that was inside the room, and since he couldn't gain access to the room until Jessie opened the door for him, he was steadily becoming more agitated. He was still unclear whether or not she was inside the room and ignoring him, or if she hadn't returned yet, and he couldn't ask for a spare key from reception as he didn't have any form of identification with him. The _ping _that the elevator made every time it was used was slowly and painfully driving him insane, but the main difference this time when the door opened was that Jessie was one of the people who stepped out of it. He attempted to stand up before she got to the room he was sitting outside of to see if she was alright, but unfortunately for him, his leg had grown twice as numb due to the position he had been staying in for over an hour and he fell back onto the ground, which encouraged laughter from the spectators. He tried to ignore the anger that was surging throughout his body and he said her name to get her attention as he attempted to get up again. She smiled at him and helped him up, making him think that she was finally willing to stop snapping at him needlessly. He thanked her as she opened the door, and she noticed that she was concentrating on something behind him, but she didn't say anything as she continued to stare intently. He turned around to see what it was and heard her laugh and say 'loser' before he heard the door slam shut. Not surprisingly, Jessie wasn't there and as a result, the crowd laughed at his misfortune.

      He reached the decision that although his body was currently in extreme pain, he might as well return to the city to avoid the pointless humiliation he was experiencing. He knew that he couldn't buy anything as his wallet was still inside the room, but anything had to be better than sitting in a cold corridor until the next time Jessie decided to open the door just to ridicule him further. He didn't particularly embrace the thought of wandering around aimlessly either, and he was contemplating returning to the park bench when he suddenly remembered that they hadn't bothered with the security tape, unless Jessie had when she had been walking around on her own. He approached The Silver Bullet and after taking a deep breath, he entered to try and find out what they had done two nights ago. From previous visits he had made there at the start of his career, he knew that the only woman who worked there was the manager and that her name was Eleanor or something similar, so he thought it would be the easiest option if he sought her out first. He asked a blond worker if he could get her for him, and he could tell that it was where it had happened by the way he had been looked at. Elora came out of the back, and grinning, she asked him if she could help him with anything. He knew that she was aware of why he was there, and he could feel his cheeks turn a different hue as he inquired about the security tape. She pretended to look sorry as she said:

      "I'm sorry sir, but that's against our policy. Is there anything else I can do to help?"

      "Can't you please make an exception, just this once?"

      "Well, it'll depend what you've got to convince me otherwise"

      "What do you want?"

      "You"

      James was more than a little taken aback by Elora's statement and he was left in inner turmoil; there was no denying that he was presently single and that she was fairly young and good looking, but he also held strong feelings for Jessie, even if she was going to treat him like he was nothing other than a stain on her outfit. He felt awkward as he did it, but he refused her deal. Disappointment flashed across her face and she offered to give him a free drink, to compensate for not being able to help him. Of course, problems would have arisen if he had agreed to her offer, as she no longer had the film in her possession, but the way she saw it, there was no point in telling him that as he looked downcast enough as it was. He glanced around the bar as she filled a glass with his poison of choice, and something in the corner of the pub caught his eye. A girl was sitting in a dark booth, talking to someone who he couldn't see and although she was sitting in the shadows, something looked vaguely familiar about her, but he couldn't place it. She noticed him looking at her and he saw her tell her friend something, still looking in his direction. He turned back towards Elora in case her friend turned out to be someone far bigger and stronger than he was, and when he considered his present condition, he realised that he was hardly fit to partake in a pub fight. He saw them leave almost immediately out of the corner of his eye and he noticed a bracelet on the girl that resembled something he had seen quite a while ago, but he couldn't be certain that it was the same one as he had only glimpsed it. Besides, the girl he gave it to did **not **have black hair, and she had always made it clear that even though she'd sometimes dye her hair for a change, she'd never dye it a dark colour as she cherished her natural colour. He thanked Elora once he'd finished the drink and said he'd see her again at some point, but he didn't know if the sentence held any truth or not. It was only once he'd left the pub and saw the girl drive away in an expensive car that he realised something that made him feel sick to his stomach; seeing her hair flying back in the wind, he remembered what the bellboy had said: 'She was a real looker, that's for sure. She had a really good figure, black hair that was tied back, a red and white strap top and dark jeans. I didn't get to see her eyes because she had these weird sunglasses on'. He had just seen the people who were ruining his life and he hadn't done anything to stop them, or find out who they were. At least to his advantage, he knew what their new method of transport was, and he decided that it was time that he went back to the hotel to see if Jessie was in a better humour. Whatever else he had been expecting, it certainly wasn't the sight that met him as he approached the door…

      Stuck on the door was a note bearing the same handwriting that had written the first note bearing the message 'missing anything?' and he automatically thought of Jessie's safety. He tore it off angrily and knocked on the door repeatedly until she opened it, bearing a disgruntled look as she did so and he asked her if she'd let him speak to her for a minute. She silently stood aside to let him walk past her and into the room, barely noting that he had something in his hand. Without saying anything, he handed it to her and immediately began searching through his belongings to see if any of his possessions had been stolen. He could hear Jessie crying again, but at that moment he had more important matters on his mind than approaching someone who was likely to blame him for it. The letters remained untouched, and after a thorough search, he reached the conclusion that it wasn't anything of his that was missing, and so he went to see Jessie to see if she had checked her stuff. She said that she had been through everything and nothing was missing as far as she could see as civilly as she thought possible, but James could tell that she was still uptight about their argument, like he was. He asked her if she wanted anything and he received the finger from her as her method of response, however, this failed to annoy him as much as it would have if she had done it to him in the alley. He repeated his question, adding some advice that she should look at the larger matter at hand. It was worrying him that these people had been around for the second time in the same day, and if they took the note seriously, it showed that they were able to pick the lock, rummage through their belongings and leave without a trace of their visit. Unless, of course, it was just a hoax from them to make them panic needlessly, and in which case, it still showed that they had acquired their room number whilst sending the bellboy up to them that morning. The situation was dangerous, whatever way they looked at it, and they couldn't move since Meowth wasn't around and wouldn't know where their new location was. James blanched again as he quietly said:

      "Meowth"  
      "What about him?"  
      "We're missing him. I haven't seen him since we were running after you…"

      "And that was how long ago?"

      "Three, four hours maybe, I don't know. Do you think that it's what they meant? Is it Meowth they've taken?"

      "I don't know James, I really don't. I know we shouldn't blame anybody other than them, but it would never have happened if I hadn't…"

      "Overreacted?"  
      "I was going for 'run off like that', but overreacted is suffice I guess. What do we do now?"

      "I honestly don't know, but neither of us is to leave this room unless it's absolutely necessary, no matter how annoying we may seem to each other. Understand?"

      "Yes. I'm really sorry for earlier James, I didn't mean…"

      "I don't think it would be wise to bring that back up until Meowth's safety is guaranteed. The last thing we want is to start arguing, whether we mean to, or not"

      "I just…"  
      "Jessie, I know you didn't mean to hurt me, but you did and I don't feel like talking about it right now. I'm pretty hungry since I didn't have my wallet with me to buy lunch, so do you want anything?"

      "I didn't know you had no money, how did you make the call?"

      "Please don't bring the call up again. I made it because I found some loose change in my pockets. Do you want anything or not?"

      Roughly 00:00hours…

      Jessie and James had survived the evening alone together by acting like nothing in the last thirteen days had happened, which was proving to be quite difficult for them both, with Meowth and their argument distracting their thoughts and thus distracting their concentration. They were both becoming tired as the night drew on, and neither of them felt like parting each other's company just yet, as they were finally forgetting about their fight. As it was approaching one o' clock, Jessie admitted that she was close to falling asleep, and James suggested that she went to bed and he'd sleep on the couch. She objected to this as the couch wasn't capable of offering a good night's sleep, and he just shrugged at her statement, feeling indifferent on the matter.

      "Don't be silly, your leg is sore enough without completely ruining it. It would be foolish to make yourself go through added hardship for no reason"

      "Maybe, but I don't want you to sleep here either. Trust me, I've slept in more uncomfortable places"

      "You could come to bed with me, I don't bite"

      "Much"

      "What did you just say?"  
      "Nothing. Besides, I think it would be best if we didn't share a bed, in lieu of recent events and everything"  
      "Okay, but if we're still here tomorrow, you get the bed. I wouldn't feel right otherwise"

      "'Night Jess"

      "'Night Jimmy"  
      "You _do _realise I hate that name, don't you?"

      "Of course. 'Night James"

      She leaned over and kissed him on his lips before she went into the bedroom, showing that it was purely for their safety that she had asked him to break up with her. He didn't follow her as he knew that he wouldn't be able to hold himself back if he went near her, and instead stripped down to try and get comfortable on the couch. He woke up minutes after falling asleep by a crash in the kitchen, and he went out in his underwear to investigate what it was, and he was glad to see that it was Meowth without any damage visible on him. He rubbed the scratch cat's head and gave him some milk to drink before they went over to the bedroom together to see Jessie. James knocked on the door and waited until he heard Jessie tell him that he could come in before opening it, respecting her privacy. His pulse quickened as he realised that he had just entered the room in his underwear and Jessie probably only had the blankets covering her skin, and after he shook away the feeling, he realised that she had asked him to sit beside her on the bed, acting as if she felt no discomfort with the situation. He obliged and was about to explain that Meowth was back when she sat forward and kissed him on the lips without any regard for the covers, thus confirming his thoughts on what she was wearing. He realised what he was doing after a few seconds and pulled back, trying to apologise for entering the bedroom at that hour of the morning, but she still had her arms around his neck, showing that she wasn't sorry that he did it.

      "Are you sure you want to do this? After all, you wanted to break up for a while earlier"

      "And we did. I've needed to do some thinking, and I don't care if my life is safe if we break up, because I felt so empty today and that was only for a few hours. I shouldn't have overreacted, and nothing can excuse my behaviour. Come here and let me make it up to you"

      "As tempting as that sounds, there's something I have to tell you"

      "ME-OWTH, WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON BETWEEN YOU TWO?!"

      "MEOWTH?!"

      Jessie instantly dropped her arms from James' neck and covered herself up properly, much to James' disappointment.

      "As I was saying, Meowth's back"

      Meowth rolled his eyes at them, failing to understand what had made Jessie change from how she had been when he had last seen them and what they were like now. He called out 'goodnight' to them and slept where James had been. Jessie went back into the position she had been in before Meowth had interrupted and informed James that since the couch had been repossessed, he had no choice but to share the bed with her. He stood up to shut the door before joining her in the bed, still feeling confused about how she could treat him so coldly one minute and act all over him the next, but decided to take it up with her in the morning. He held her in his arms and kissed her properly to try and forget any trace of their argument, and he could feel her removing his underwear. He pulled back and asked her if it was what she really wanted, and she nodded, desperate to make it up to him the only way she knew that would guarantee that she wanted to stay with him. Afterwards when they were both ready to fall asleep, James suddenly realised how glad he was that he didn't accept Elora's offer and something else crossed his mind.

      "Jess?"  
      "Nngh?"

      "If it wasn't Meowth, what was it?"

      "Go to sleep. If it were vital, we'd have missed it. They were probably just trying to call our bluff"

      "I hope you're right. 'Night Jess"

      "'Night James"

AN:

Well, that chapter was long enough anyway! Considering it took me so long to write it, please take the time to review it. Thanks! Here's a useless fact I learned recently:

Apparently 10% of all male cross-dressers are gay, and the other 90% are so turned on when they think about the female body that they cross-dress to keep their 'urges' under control. Go James! So until Day 14,

~Thorned Rose~


	14. September 14th, 2000

                                                                 ~R~

                                                Thursday, September 14th 2000

      James woke up shortly before ten o' clock and felt relieved to see that Jessie was safe and still asleep; the note had worried him, even if he had tried to shrug it off when she had overreacted yesterday. Although he had enjoyed 'making up' with Jessie, regret was presently swarming around inside his head as it showed Jessie that she could treat him like something she'd walked in, and he'd be ready to forgive her whenever she offered him the use of her body. He looked at her for a few minutes before sliding out of the bed without waking her up, having no desire to resume their argument at that hour of the morning, and that was what he felt sorely tempted to do more than anything at that time. He shut the door behind him as he went over to the couch to put the same clothes on that he had worn the day before, not seeing the point in lingering in the bedroom just for some fresh clothes. He sat beside Meowth and made a fuss of him to show that he had been missed, even if it had only been for a few hours. Since Meowth didn't know why he was getting so much attention at that hour of the morning, he asked James what was wrong and he dolefully explained that another note had been delivered, and they didn't have a clue what it was that was missing. The atmosphere immediately turned to one of a melancholy sort, and Meowth didn't succeed in lightening the subject by asking James:

      "What's going on between you and Jessie?"  
      "I honestly don't know. She locked me out of the room for most of yesterday, and then when she went to bed she wanted me to go with her. I shouldn't have done it, I should have found out what was wrong before I slept with her. Now I don't know what she's thinking or how she feels about me. She really scared me yesterday when she went off like that"  
      "You know how she's always been whenever one of her boyfriends was on the phone to a girl, it used to mean that she was yesterday's news" 

      "She'd already suggested that we should break up, but after all the times I swore I loved her, she still thought I'd take it lightly and move on. I'm not like that and never will be"

I know, but I don't know what goes on inside her head sometimes. Was it her time of the month or something?"

      "Nope"

      "How do you know?"  
      "Think about it. She's never been that nasty to me before anyway"

      "Whom were you talking to in the first place, if you don't mind me asking"  
      "I'm really sorry, but I can't tell you, I know you just wouldn't understand"

      "It's okay, I acknowledge your wish for privacy, it was just the way you looked at us afterwards that made me ask. You looked like you'd just been found guilty of murder"

      "I used to do a lot of things that I'm not proud of, and if Jessie ever found out about any of it, there's no way she'd talk to me again"

      "Did she have something to do with it?"  
      "Who do you mean by 'she'?"  
      "The person you were on the phone to"  
      "In a way, yes. She never forced me to do any of the things I did, it was all my own free will"  
      "Roughly what time are we talking about? Yesterday, last month, Christmas…"  
      "Years ago, before Team Rocket was ever in my mind, let alone my occupation. I'd done some of the things before I'd even left home, but the serious stuff happened when I was fifteen going on thirty"  
      "Huh?"  
      "I did stuff that were way out of my league, and if I was going to do them anyway I should have done it twice the age I was then"

      "What exactly are we talking about here?"

      "I ruined people's lives and people ruined mine, and there's nothing I can do to change it. Although I didn't actually kill anyone, I now realise that I could have. I don't think I would take it back, if I were given the chance; the incidents opened my eyes"

      "You have me mystified now, what did you do? I swear I won't tell Jessie"  
      "No, I can't. I hate thinking about it, let alone the thought of talking about it. What do you think would happen if Jessie found out that I'd told you and not her?"

      "Whenever you feel ready to talk, you know where this cat is to put it out of its misery"

      "Thanks Meowth, for not forcing me to tell you. Now all I need is to figure out how to avoid telling Jess if she brings the subject up; I get the impression that she wouldn't be too happy"

      "Me-owth too. So what are you giving her for her birthday?"

      "You'll find out when she does"

      "You don't know, do you?"  
      "In a way, yes and no. I have something, but now I'm less sure that she'll like it, and I don't know what to give her as a backup present"

      "You'll think of something, you always do"  
      "I hope so Meowth, I hope so"

      Across Viridian City…

      "There's no way I'm touching that!"

      "I'm not doing it"

      "Yes you are. I can't even look at it, and there's certainly no way I'm putting it in a box"

      "Stop being such a baby"

      "You can drive for today"

      "The rest of the week"

      "Oh all right, but I'm not looking at it as you do it, it's even worse than the growlithe. At least we only had to see the mutt in picture form"

      "When do you think these guys will be cut some slack?"  
      "I don't know, as much as I despise their relationship, this is too extreme for my liking"

      "How anyone could arrange this sort of thing in the first place is far beyond me, I think their minds are utterly warped"

      "How do they expect us to do this sort of stuff anyway?"  
      "Agghh, that's disgusting!"

      Without turning around, she asked her friend what was wrong with him, refusing to look at the revolting sight behind her. He muttered a string of obscenities to himself without answering her question, and she privately felt relieved that he didn't reveal any of the details since her stomach had nearly turned when she first saw their next assignment. At least they wouldn't have to worry about the lingering stench for much longer; they would be leaving the hotel permanently once their current assignment had been completed successfully. _If_ they completed their current assignment successfully…

      Jessie woke up alone, and it took her a few minutes to realise that James should be beside her. She got out of the bed and put some clothes on, mentally preparing how she could ask James what was wrong without making her sound like a bitch, not wishing for him to think that she was taking him for granted. When she opened the door, she saw him talking to Meowth in a lowered voice, signifying that it was either to prevent her from waking up due to their conversation, or the more likely of the two, they were saying something that she shouldn't hear. She went over to sit on James' lap and kissed him as he slid his arms around to hold her in place, ignoring both the rest of free space around her and the groans that Meowth was making. As hard as they tried, they couldn't think of anything that could possibly be missing that they hadn't checked already, and both of them felt absolutely certain that they had searched through their belongings thoroughly. Once Jessie had finished greeting her boyfriend and they were both comfortable, they discussed amongst themselves what the best option for them to do that day would be and they reached the decision that they should leave Viridian City as soon as possible and resume their attempts to capture Pikachu to try and regain as much of their life as possible. Of course, they would need to make repairs to the hot air balloon first, and that would take a few hours considering the distance between it and their so-called room. They skipped eating breakfast as they didn't want to tempt fate by staying around needlessly and hurriedly packed their belongings, and James overlooked the missing item yet again, presuming that Jessie had it, since she sometimes did anyway. They paid for their overcharged room since there was no possibility of a clean getaway in such a large city, and so they set off in the general direction of their destination.

      Meanwhile, walking away from said balloon…

      "I think I'm going to throw up again"  
      "Hold it in, you've done the worst part. I don't know how you could touch that"

      "I don't either, and why couldn't they inflict the damage this time too?"

      "That stench is cutting the breath out of me. How could you do it?"

      "I don't know, and I can't forgive myself for it"

      "Sounds like I'm not the only girl around here after all. Why don't you show this side of you more often?"

      "I'm sure it's illegal for me to act like this. Besides, I have a reputation to keep"

      "Why do you think they wanted us to do this assignment? Do you think it was a test of how seriously we'd take their orders?"

      "I've stopped thinking about what goes on inside their heads, I really have. This smell's going to stay with me for the rest of today, but memories of what I've done today will haunt me forever, I just know it. I'm going to throw up, stand back"

      "Are you alright?"  
      "Yes, at least I won't be left with seeing this nasty surprise whenever they show up"

      "What if some kid finds it first?"

      "If they do, it won't hit them quite as hard as when that kid will see it"

      "Why did they make us do this? I know you did the work, but it's still going to haunt me"

      "They're lunatics, and by saying that I mean no offence to any crazy people out there. They're both so cold-hearted, what kind of revenge is this?"

      "She sure has a strange way of showing her love for someone, that's for certain…"

      James knew that something was wrong the second the balloon came into their vision although he wasn't sure why; there was nothing physically different about it, but he still felt uneasy as they approached it. He dropped out of the conversation they were having about how to go about capturing Pikachu and tried to work out what was making him afraid of going near their only means of transport that was still quite a bit away, with dread consuming his every thought. He vaguely recalled hearing Meowth asking him a question, but he was too wrapped up in his inner fear to even consider registering what he had been asked, let alone answer the question. Sweat was building up on his body as he grew more anxious, and it quickly broke out into a cold sweat when they finally reached it. On the bottom of the basket lay another box addressed to him using his full name, but a more worrying difference was that this one was a great deal bigger than the last box they had received. Meowth sniffed at it in much the same manner that he had used the first time, and it caused him to hiss and back away, with tears forming in his eyes as recognition of the scent entered his head. James suddenly felt like all of his energy had been sucked out of him and he found it impossible to stand straight, and his vision was fading fast. Jessie tried to say something to him, but it was drowned out in the piercingly loud ringing in his ears, and as he held onto the side of the balloon for some support, he vowed that he wouldn't pass out again. He concentrated on a nearby tree until the faint feeling inside him disappeared, and then searched his bag for a knife he could use to cut the mysterious box open with; he wanted to know what had been sent to taunt him, but at the same time he was afraid of what he would find. He firmly told Jessie to look away until he could verify that it was safe, and after ignoring her protests to let her see what it was, he took the knife and cut along the edges of the thick box until he was able to lift the top off it; taking a deep breath before he proceeded to do so. His fingers met something moist as he slid them under the lid, and his heartbeat was beating five times the normal rate of what it should be, and hysteria took over his body once his eyes met the latest threat. His throat went from completely dry to being filled with a scream in two seconds flat, and after shaking his head to remove the threat's penetrating gaze, he automatically backed away from the box and fell back over the edge of the basket. He moved back for another couple of seconds to try and distance himself from the balloon, and he felt Jessie kneeling down beside him in the mud and holding him to try and calm him down, asking him what was wrong. He threw his arms around her shoulders and cried bitterly into her chest until he thought he would be able to talk to her, which ended up being something like fifteen minutes later. The moment that he had touched her, she felt something on his fingers as he touched the back of her neck that made her feel sick to her stomach, but she comforted him regardless and gently asked him what was wrong when she thought he had calmed down sufficiently. He was still shaking as he tried to reply to her, and his crying made him difficult to decipher, but she tried to catch what he was saying regardless of these hindrances.

      "It was awful Jess, and…" 

      "Go on, but only if you think you can handle saying it"

      "It's the most horrific thing I've ever seen, and it's a million times worse than the growlithe"

      "Do you feel like you can talk about it? I'll understand if you don't"

      "I'll only tell you if you don't go near it. Promise?"

      "Yes, I swear I won't go near whatever it is. It must have been something horrendous for both you and Meowth to act like this"

      "It was Jessie, believe me it was, and I can't think of how I'll move it. I can't look at it, and those eyes…and to think I didn't even miss him"  
      "Who?"  
      "Weezing"

Roughly eleven o' clock that evening...

      James lay back on an otherwise empty bed, trying to soothe his swollen cheek and black eye, feeling utterly convinced that it had been the worst day of his life as of yet. His nerves had been on edge after finding his pokémon, but things had just seem to plummet downhill for him from there, and he couldn't think of anything that could make him feel any better. He closed his weary eyes and began to reflect on what had happened to him since Jessie had held him after his 'discovery'…

      It had taken the best part of an hour to knock him completely out of his hysteria; and the fact that there was dark purple blood on his fingers at the time certainly didn't make Jessie's job any easier. Once he had felt ready to do something with the carcass, he found that his legs disagreed with that idea, and he had found it incredibly difficult to stand up without his knees wanting to buckle beneath him. The only thing that gave him enough mental strength to see his pokémon again was Jessie's offer to do it for him, and the only reason he proceeded was to prevent Jessie having to see what would haunt him for quite some time. He could vaguely evoke hearing Meowth hissing in a nearby tree as he approached the daunting box, but at least he had an advantage over the last time; he knew what to expect, even if it was emotionally painful. With one last deep breath, he approached the balloon to put the lid back on top of the box, and to clean up the area around it, if it was required. He felt like screaming and running to Jessie when he saw the grotesque cadaver in front of him, but his conscience convinced him of otherwise; letting Jessie see Weezing in that condition was not an option.

      When he had run back earlier, he hadn't put the lid back, and the jolt that the balloon had received when he had fallen backwards over the side had caused the box to tip upside down, and Weezing was now a few feet away from its original position, leaving a thick trail of dark blood wherever the carcass had rolled. Courage and a sense of responsibility overthrew his nausea and he put the box back into its standard position before even considering touching his murdered pokémon. He picked Weezing up and tearfully looked at him before resealing him in his cardboard coffin; trying to understand what he could have done to aggravate people to the extent of them murdering his innocent and loyal pokémon. Although James was distraught about the whole ordeal, it was the eyes that terrified him the most; not only had they been horribly mutilated, but it might have to do with an embarrassing fear of losing his eyesight that he had possessed since he was young, and he had never even told Jessie about it in case she laughed at him. Weezing's eyes had been torn out of their sockets and forced into its mouths, but since the eyes were too big for the holes they had been forced into, they had been punctured by its own teeth and it had caused blood vessels to burst, thus filling the inside of the eyeballs with a murky burgundy colour, making them appear even grislier. The sockets of its eyes were far from empty, however, as its skin had been peeled off completely and stuffed into the holes, leaving the white markings as pupils in the purple 'eyes', therefore explaining why there had been a pool of blood surrounding Weezing. Unfortunately, to have such an amount of blood, it meant that this had been inflicted on the pokémon shortly after its death, or an even more horrific possibility, whilst it had still been alive. It was certain that it couldn't have been too long after its death, since its blood would have dried instead of spurting as it had apparently done. He moved the sinister object aside and cleaned and disinfected the entire area before running past his friends and towards the river to remove anything that shouldn't be on his body or clothes, despair and guilt overshadowing him.

      After an hour and forty minutes, James had scrubbed his skin so hard that it now felt raw, and he had a firmer grip on reality; he hadn't been protecting his friends well enough, and it had taken the loss of Weezing's life to make him fully realise it. He had assisted Jessie in repairing the skin of the balloon as he came to terms with the death of his most-used pokémon. They changed into their uniforms and went to Team Rocket Headquarters to submit a request for artillery and ammunition; as much as they both despised using guns, they both decided that it was becoming necessary if they wished to remain alive.

      They waited for quite a long time in the lounge at the headquarters, watching members reporting for a new assignment or perhaps delivering a summary of the conquests and/or failures they had experienced over the last month. Fear was a common emotion throughout the room, and comments made from members who'd left the office made it clear that Giovanni was in a worse mood than usual, if that was possible. On one wall was a new cinema sized television that was presently off, and many of the members were surprised to see that Giovanni had spent money on something that the team could use. They were finally called into his office and as they nervously walked down the long corridor, they failed to notice two people that weren't in a uniform of any sort enter the lounge and began to talk to the other members. James' nerves were still on edge from that morning's events, and since Giovanni's attitude towards them was far from welcoming, he was left feeling like he was worthless. He insulted them for all he was worth and James began to feel so upset that he snapped back 'What the fucking hell have we done to get up your ass now?' without thinking. He usually only spoke like that when he felt so cornered that he used it as a defence mechanism; he despised listening to that sort of language, never mind using it. Giovanni bellowed at him to leave his office, his eyes flashing with anger, when suddenly he thought of a way he could hurt James without leaving his desk. He smirked and pressed a button beneath his desk that caused the television screen to flash on in the lounge, taking great pleasure in watching Meowth scamper out of the room just before James slammed the door as he left the office, leaving him alone with Jessie. James was on the verge of tears yet again, feeling that he had failed as a person, and the sound of the door locking didn't register as important, and although Meowth immediately noticed it, he heard a couple of voices coming from the lounge that sounded too much like Jessie and James for his liking, so he went off to investigate it. His eyes widened at the image that was on the screen and called James to see it for himself.

      Giovanni turned towards an extremely nervous Jessie and asked her why they were bothering him four days after their monthly appearance, and it was obvious to him that her confidence and courage lay within James standing near her. She stuttered out that they needed weaponry for safety reasons, and her pulse quickened as she saw him walk over to her. She involuntarily took a couple of steps backwards and cold sweat washed over her as he licked his lips lustfully and her back met the stone surface of the wall. He held her hips and whispered that everything had a price, enjoying the fear visible in her eyes as he slid his fingers along the elastic on the inside of her skirt. Meowth was finally able to get James to talk to him after ten minutes and he convinced him to take a look at the television screen, as there was a crowd rapidly forming around it. He awkwardly stood up from his slouched position and followed his feline companion down the corridor to where the noises were being emitted from, and anger met his thoughts as he saw Jessie dancing topless on a cocktail table. He realised that Giovanni had no interest in their safety or dignity at all, and bitterly thought that the woman from the pub must have changed the staff policy since the tape had either been sold, or perhaps Giovanni had agreed to sleep with her whereas he had refused. He snapped out of his thoughts and turned back the way he had come from to give Giovanni a piece of his mind whilst he felt like life couldn't get much worse, and after he had charged sufficiently at the door to break it down, he realised that Weezing was only the beginning of it…

      He froze momentarily due to pain upon seeing the contents of the office, and anger quickly boiled through his veins after the initial shock had worn off. Jessie was on Giovanni's desk with her legs spread, wearing only her skirt that was hitched up around her waist, and Giovanni was on top of her with his trousers at his ankles, ready to enter her. Under closer inspection, James saw tears trail down Jessie's face, and he realised that she had been crying before he had barged into the room, and smeared lipstick was evident around Giovanni's mouth. He grinned evilly once the pain on James' face was apparent, and he licked Jessie's nipple and stuck his left middle finger into her to try and completely crush James' spirit, but it didn't quite work. James shook himself out of his trance, as he was thoroughly aggravated at this point, and screamed 'You fornicating letch!' before pouncing and knocking Giovanni off the table. Jessie leapt off the desk and began to dress herself once more whilst James beat Giovanni up for trying to defile his girlfriend. Giovanni was surprised at the strength that James had due to the adrenaline that had coursed through his body, and although he had based his life on power, it didn't do him any good when one of his own employees had complete power over him. He knew that he didn't stand a chance in a fair fight, so he grabbed James' injured leg to cause him to crumble in pain, thus giving him the advantage. Even when the roles were reversed, James was capable of parrying most of the attacks, and it was only when Giovanni's persian scratched his forearm ferociously that James felt pain from his opposition. As he recoiled from the attack, Giovanni managed to give James a vicious blow to his right eye, and James knew that if he received another punch like that, his body wouldn't be capable of withstanding similar attacks for much longer due to the lacerations he already had, as well as the fresh burning he felt tearing up his leg. He kicked Giovanni in his crotch and spat in his face to show that he no longer feared or held respect for him or the organisation, and he glared at Jessie before striding out of the room angrily. She was in the process of re-hooking her bra as he left, and after a fearful look at Giovanni, before gathering up the remainder of her outfit before running after him, trying to pull her boots on and zip them up in the process. Due to the way his calf had been squeezed so roughly, his limp was more obvious than usual, and it pained her to see him so angry with her since they had never been hurt by each other to this extent throughout their friendship.

      She called after him and after zipping up her second boot, she was able to pick up speed after receiving no response from him, ignoring whatever looks and comments the other members were giving. She tripped over a small bump in the carpet and she wasn't entirely sure what exactly was being implied as she heard someone making a cruel remark about her not being able to stand up when she was drunk _or _sober. She was taken by surprise when James roughly helped her up, and she was going to mention something about the tight grip he had on her forearms when he grabbed her jowls and twisted her head until she was facing the screen. The image that was presently on the screen was of her with her arms and legs around a barman and was preparing to kiss him, and she was only wearing a thong and boots at the time. He pushed her backwards with enough force to make her land excruciatingly on her rump before heading back towards the stairs to leave through the exit. She didn't care that she was in her bra, or that there were stinging imprints of his far from usually gentle touch on her arms and face; it was the way that he walked away from her without any consideration for her that bothered her. She then realised exactly how James must have felt two weeks ago as she saw Meowth run alongside him, trying to calm him down. She couldn't care less about her mascara streaks or smeared lipstick, but she did feel guilt and panic enter her heart as she saw guards grab him and slam him against the nearest wall. He tasted salty blood as the side of his face was smashed against the wall, and fear swept over his angry thoughts as he felt a cold sensation that the unforgiving knife created on the back of his neck.

      James squeezed his eyes tightly to try and stop humiliating images from re-conjuring themselves inside his head as he turned around in the bed, the ever increasing anxiety causing his stomach to constrict. He had been insulted in front of all member present in the waiting room whilst the knife had been used to cut off his uniform, and he could clearly remember hoping that the knife would stay on the outside of his skin. Giovanni's actions had destroyed his favourite belt completely, and first his tattoo and then as the back of his calf became visible there was a crowd-swept gasp, and some of the other members cheered at his public degradation. He couldn't even squirm as the guards were pinning him so tightly against the wall, but in spite of this, he wouldn't give Giovanni the satisfaction of hearing him release any sound that would indicate that he was in pain. A sickening crack was released as Giovanni used all of his force to knock him against the brick once more, after viciously forcing him around, a hideously misshapen shoulder was visible. The pain was blinding but his arms were still restrained, thus preventing him from doing anything to ease his suffering. He glared venomously at Giovanni and muttered something inaudible to the other persons present, which rewarded him with a sharp punch to the stomach. Giovanni had used his left hand, the one bedecked with rings, to inflict maximum damage. Due to the vibrations that had momentarily swept through his body the guards holding him had loosened their grip and his knees gave way causing him to tumble to the floor. He wrapped his decent arm around his stomach to try and dull the excruciating pain, defiantly remaining silent.

      She could barely believe her eyes as she saw the way that James was being treated, and her partner was disgusting her by laughing at James' downfall. They had only gone back to Team Rocket Headquarters to sell a few copies of the video, and now she found it horrendous to watch her ex-boyfriend being publicly ridiculed and beaten up. She despised Jessie for keeping her distance from Giovanni; if the prospect of her identity being discovered by James wasn't such a huge threat she would have readily leapt to his assistance. She saw Giovanni's knuckles whiten due to the force being applied as he forced James' head back to make him face his superior and incomprehensible words were exchanged between them. Terror shot through her as the knife was quickly brought to James' throat and she feared for his life. James disconsolately said something and the knife was removed. Giovanni settled with spitting in James' face and squeezing his dislocated shoulder before leaving with his henchmen. She couldn't even start to imagine the pain he was enduring, and she felt twice as uncomfortable when she took the fact that he had already found Weezing into consideration. Once his antagonists had left the vicinity he first ran his hand over his face to remove Giovanni's mark and then banged his shoulder against the wall behind him to reposition it, thus creating another nauseating crack. He seemed more than a little dizzy, and he probed his teeth to check for breakages. Ignoring the fact that the only item of clothing that had not been destroyed by the blade was his boxers, he kicked off his boots and gathered up the torn material single-handedly. Jessie knelt beside him, now fully clothed, and he said something that only she could hear even if the gist of it was obvious to all. He looked at her abhorrently before struggling to get up and leaving with Meowth. Jessie followed him dejectedly as he had obviously hurt her by whatever he had said, and he could feel hot tears sting his eyes as he heard not only the buzz that was being emitted by the other members who were discussing what had just happened, but to completely crush his spirit, he could hear a drunken rendition of him singing 'Happy Birthday' fill the large building.

      She discovered that she wanted to hold him in her arms to make him feel better even if she had never allowed herself to get that close with him when they had been going out together. She had never even considered sex in any of her previous relationships and although she had strong feelings for her partner she considered losing her virginity to him nothing short of a nightmare; since he lacked respect for all of the women he slept with she felt that he wouldn't find her any different and would move on to the next woman as soon as possible. Following this belief it provided her with another excuse to continue bottling her feelings.

      Once he was certain that he had distanced himself sufficiently from the city, he sat against a tree in the forest and cried bitterly feeling nothing other than despair and humiliation. He could feel the side of his face begin to swell up and both that and the cut on the inside of his mouth added to the belief that he had lost all of his dignity. He refused to talk to Jessie, even in the lengthy journey to his house, which made the burial's atmosphere even colder. He didn't want her help as they dug the greave, but he privately admitted to himself that he required it since one of his shoulders was out of commission. The process itself obviously took less than the other one as Weezing was not only naturally smaller than the growlithe, but the position Weezing was in was less awkward to bury.

      James was now looking at a bottle of aspirin after swallowing a couple, contemplating how many would be sufficient to kill himself. He shook his head to remove any thoughts regarding his own death, and he went back to remembering why he was there in the first place…

      Whilst he had been flattening the top of the freshly made grave, his parents had driven into the area, apparently having detected the balloon in the security system radar. An argument had then ensued, regarding his supposed belief that he was able to dump whatever he wanted on their land whenever the urge arose, without even having the courtesy of making his presence known. He hastily made it clear that it was the family's estate therefore entitling him to use some of its soil. He also added that he had only just arrived revealing that he hadn't been given the opportunity as of yet and that he had not stayed long enough last time to do so. Thankfully they dropped their argument, and James was extremely grateful for this and he had already been upset repeatedly that day. They offered to give him a lift back to the house but he declined, explaining it was easier if the balloon was in a more accessible area. They arranged a rendezvous at the mansion in half an hour, and since they had left he haphazardly tidied the tools away his muscles still aching from the strain. He got into the balloon and tried his hardest to shrug when Jessie asked him what to do, but he moved slightly to allow her room within it. He would have verbally invited her to join him, but that would involve talking to her; something that he had no desire to do.

      It was now eleven o'clock and James decided to get out of bed and make himself a coffee to see if it would cease his restlessness. He had actually enjoyed talking to his parents earlier, as they had frequently locked horns in the past, this time they had been completely civil to each other. He had retired for the evening shortly before nine, feeling shattered after that day's events, and he had shown Jessie and Meowth where they could stay for the night. He slipped on his underwear and headed for the kitchen, not bothered by what he looked like since it was his house anyway. He brought the coffee back to his room and stood by the window looking at Growly chewing the socks he had deposited in the 'kennel'. He sipped his coffee as he watched his pet play with his tail wagging, and it had succeeded in taking his mind off his problems for a few minutes, that is until he heard a soft knock on his door. He knew it was Jessie before she asked if she could come in, and he did not reply; he was still too angry with her to acknowledge her existence. She entered anyway and said his name a couple of times, and he smirked to himself when he heard her voice cracking with approaching tears. He put his cup down on the windowsill and felt a flash of guilt as he continued to ignore his supposed girlfriend, and he only made verbal contact with her when he felt her touch his arm and heard her begging him to talk to her. He lost all self control momentarily and in one rapid motion, he turned and pushed her onto his bed and pinned her in the position they usually made love in. His eyes were cold and he hissed dangerously:

      "Why talk when we can fuck?"

      She was stunned by him not only talking to her at all, but also because he spoke to her in that manner and she broke out in a sweat at how vulnerable she was to an attack by him. She tried to say something to calm him down, and she felt even more pressure from his hips as he cut off what she was saying by using a falsetto voice.

      "My testosterone levels have been down lately, would you mind giving me a shot between my legs?"

      "It wasn't like that"

      "I'd ask my boyfriend except we're alone together, and I really need to work up a sweat"

      "I asked him for guns and that's the only way he would agree to it"

      "Please, just take something long and hard and shoot into me repeatedly"

      "Will you stop that? I did it to protect your life, and you know how I feel whenever he looks at me even with all of my uniform on"

      "Protection?  Don't bother. If James doesn't see us it never happened and we'll never tell him. Am I wearing too much?"

      "I didn't want to do it"

      "You wouldn't have done it if you were a virgin. I know that for a fact"

      "James, you're really hurting me"

      He had lost his falsetto voice for the last sentence and he stood up slightly to flip her onto her stomach, pinning her more gently from behind this time. He ran his fingers along the thin straps of her nightdress before rubbing her shoulders, almost massaging her. She allowed her body to relax a little under his touch, but she knew that even though he wasn't hurting her, she felt that he wasn't finished with her yet. He lay on top of her and whispered in her ear whilst he continued to rub her shoulder with one hand, stroking her face with the other.

      "Do you know what it is like to have one of these dislocated? Or have the entire side of your pretty little face swollen with a black eye inclusive? Or what it's like to have any of the other lacerations that I have? No. But they don't hurt me anywhere near as much as I felt earlier, seeing you preparing to prostitute yourself. You don't know what hurt is, you know only how to hurt with these"

      He squeezed her breasts and then moved his right hand to her nether regions, taking sadistic pleasure in watching her flinch as he molested her body. He had no intention of raping her—she'd probably enjoy it—but he didn't want for her to think that she could get away with anything.

      "You know, I don't think it would have stung quite so much any other day; I'd still feel used and hurt, but I wouldn't feel quite so betrayed. You held me and told me how much you cared for me when I found Weezing and not even two hours later you were in another man's arms. Now that's betrayal"

      She felt him cry at the mere mention of Weezing, and it pained her to feel his body shake above hers, especially as it had to do with her nearly sleeping with Giovanni. She could tell that his anger had dissolved when he moved his arms to around her stomach and cried into her shoulder, revealing that he still relied on her for comfort. Once he had calmed down sufficiently, he got off her and lay down in the position he had been in before he made the coffee. Jessie turned around and looked at him before joining his side and she slid an arm over his stomach to show that she still loved him, whatever way he'd treated her just then. He took her hand into his and gently rubbed his thumb over the back of it to show that he was too upset to continue with their petty argument, and she could still feel his body trembling beside her. He choked back another sob and said quietly:

      "I thought you had Weezing. I know it's rare that you ever keep him with yours, but I only saw Victreebel. I would have checked through yours except I was afraid of finding Arbok, and we were in so much of a rush to get away from there this morning that I forgot to mention it to you"

      "It wasn't your fault, in fact it's all mine. If I hadn't asked for us to break up, you would never have gone down to the city, we wouldn't have followed you, and our room wouldn't have been ransacked. It's all my fault"

      "There's only two people responsible for all of this, and it isn't either of us. Just supposing we were still in the room and acting as if all was perfect between us, who's to say that they wouldn't have murdered us?"

      "I still feel somehow responsible for all of this, and I can't see how we can rectify the situation"

      "They murdered my pokémon when we'd broken up. This is no longer merely due to our relationship. The only thing that you're to blame for is being so perfect that I can't help but love you. You really hurt me today, you know that, don't you?"

      "I wish I could take it back. He kept telling me what could happen to you if you lacked protection, and I couldn't bear the thought of you being injured any more than you already are, or worse. I hated him touching me, and I even cried when he took my clothes off. I didn't want to let him use my body, but I didn't want to see you die either"

      "I'd prefer death than seeing you prostitute yourself for my life. I love you too much to see you with anyone else, and I'd rather die faithful than live with a tainted relationship. You mean too much to me"

      To prevent any more of her protests, he tipped her chin up and kissed her deeply and he only pulled back when her tongue pressed against the cut inside his mouth. She automatically apologised and he said it was all right, not wanting to worry her by revealing the pain he was in. His face was a mess to look at, but it failed to bother Jessie, after all, the important thing was that he was back on more than just talking terms with her. With his best attempt at a smile, he kissed her and told her to get back to her own room before Meowth started to complain, and they shared one final kiss before she left the room.

      He took his boxers off again and placed them with the rest of the clothes he had taken off before climbing into bed and pulling the covers over him. His body was aching from both the attacks that he had endured and the strain that the digging had caused, and his eye was throbbing with pain. He resented Giovanni for trying to screw Jessie, and he was in a quandary as to how he could meet the bastard's conditions. The only reason Giovanni hadn't killed him was because he'd inwardly decided he'd like to see him struggle for a while longer. The impossible terms were that he had to repay $44,796 in insurance for the damage he had done to both him and the door, and he also had to submit two rare pokémon for every month that he had produced none whilst working for Team Rocket. The total came to thirty-eight and should he fail to complete it he would be instantly disposed of in the most painful manner possible. He didn't think for one moment that Giovanni was bluffing and the deadline was the formal dance. He believed the task to be virtually impossible; if his parents didn't help him out he'd be unable to raise a fraction of the amount required, and if he was unable to capture even just one rare pokémon in a month, how could he possibly capture thirty-eight in less than that? He would also need to repair his uniform yet again, knowing that he didn't have enough money for a replacement, and Jessie would still need to be told about the consequences of his jealous actions. He cried bitterly at the loss of a loyal pokémon and ended up crying himself to sleep. All of his dreams were twisted and repeatedly invaded of manifestations of Weezing's corpse.

      Elsewhere…

      Where she had been horrified at her partner mutilating a pokémon, nothing came close to how she felt filming the scene presently in front of her. She wanted to look away from it, but she needed to focus the camera properly otherwise she'd only hear about it from her employers. She felt wretched as she tried to stop her fingers from shaking as her body was wracked with tears, and she didn't know what to think of her ex closest friend after his attitude to this project. As well as her taking several pictures, both with flash and without, the whole revolting process was being filmed which meant that she needn't have been there in the first place. Tears involuntarily slid down her face as the screams of pain continued throughout the night and it opened her eyes to how revolting both her employers and her partner were and how far they could go for their twisted senses of pleasure. He had even invited five of his friends to help him, even though he was capable of doing it alone; three of whom she had never seen before. One of the others was called Matt and worked at the Silver Bullet, and the last person always chilled her to the bone; he was a twenty-five year old dark skinned man who went by the name of Henry du Paor.

      AN:

I feel sorry for Weezing too!!! Henry's name is pronounced as you would in French, therefore it's 'On-Ree Do Pare'. Megami and Shari: we'll find out who it is that's behind it soon enough, and hopefully it won't be who you think!!!


	15. September 15th, 2000

                                                Friday, September 15th 2000           

      James slowly drank a cup of coffee at Weezing's grave in the pouring rain with his jacket pulled around him, and no matter how much he had tried to accept it, he couldn't believe that his friend was truly gone forever. His breath was visible and frosted as he stood in the rain, and with the exception of his growlithe at his feet, he felt like he was utterly alone. Growly was lying down at his feet and he seemed to understand the significance of his master's crying; he remained silent, his ears were flat against his head and his tail was drooped in the mud. James wanted to scream to release some of his anguish, but he couldn't bring himself to do it in case it attracted anybody else's attention, and the last thing he wanted at that moment was company. Jessie's especially. Even though he acted like he had forgiven her last night, the truth was that he was still burning with anger and hurt at her betrayal. Perhaps she hadn't wanted to sleep with Giovanni, but there was no evidence on her body of a struggle; he had taken great care in checking for any red marks or bruises on her skin when he had pinned her. His so-called dreams had either been plagued with visions of Weezing's mutilated cadaver or had disturbed him in other ways. One dream had been of him trying to climb up a cliff with Jessie calling for him at the top, but when he had finally climbed up, she had started to laugh at him before turning around and running into Giovanni's arms. He knew what it symbolised clearly; he was in the process of surmounting a nearly impossible feat when Jessie betrayed him, mirroring her actions from the day before. Although she had said that she hated the thought of sleeping with Giovanni, and with no evidence of rape, _had she_ _actually wanted to sleep with him, and if so, was it merely the possibility of being caught in the act that made her cry? _There was one other dream that punctured his thoughts with an eerie sense of reality about it; a figure from his past was on top of Jessie with a knife to her throat, raping her. The only conclusion he could reach from this atrociously convincing nightmare was that if she ever learned about what he did a few years ago, it would overpower her. It didn't give a satisfactory explanation as to why **he** would be there of all people; he had always hated him and the feeling was mutual, and the mere thought of seeing him again terrified him and sent icy waves throughout his being. It might have just been his sub-conscious reminding him of the feel of the knife on his throat mixed with the pain of seeing his girlfriend with another man, but he couldn't see how his mind had created a vision of the person he loved the most being defiled by the man who terrified more than anyone else he had ever laid eyes on, and that was including even Giovanni.

      Shaking from both disgust and lack of sleep, she lay awake on her bed in their latest form of accommodation, feeling sorely tempted to scream after the previous night's events and how she had partaken in them by taking pictures of the revolting scene. She wanted to get a drink since her throat was hoarse and parched due to all of the arguing and crying she had done all night and she wouldn't object to a shower either, but she didn't know if her partner's friends were still around, and if they were, she wasn't intending seeing them if she could help it. She heard somebody moving around in another room so she remained stock-still, not wishing to be disturbed by anyone in case they pulled another stunt like they had done the night before, and she released her breath when she heard them leave and drive away in a car. She decided to risk getting a drink for herself as her throat was now burning from the rawness, and kicked off her sandals in case they clacked against the tiles to the point of reminding people of her presence. She cautiously opened her bedroom door and upon receiving reassurance that she was alone, she carefully walked to the kitchen and drank a glass of water in one breath. She dropped a piece of paper that was next to the glass when she put it back on the counter, and as she bent down to pick it up, she felt a pair of hands hold her hips and then tried to undo the button on her skirt. She froze for a moment, knowing whom it was before looking to confirm her belief, and once her initial fear left, she spun around and fixed her button. She was pressed back against the counter felt his lips cover her own, the disgusting feel it left throughout her skeleton was making her want to retch. She pushed du Paor back with all of the force that she could muster and saw amusement play across his face as he saw her terror. She always had feared him, and he decided to take advantage of it whilst her partner was still asleep, knowing that she'd be too ashamed to talk about whatever he felt like doing to her. He wasn't entirely sure himself of what it would be yet, so he cornered her completely and tore her blouse open, thriving on her fear and taking amusement out of her attempts to push him away from her. He reached under his own t-shirt and pulled out a chain that he always had around his neck, the one with his signature syringe at the bottom, and traced the needle of it along her collarbone to make her feel even more afraid of him. She slapped his hand away and screamed for him to get off her, and she felt relief when her partner entered the room and said:

      "Get off her Henry. I've told you before that she's off-limits"

      He cherished her look one last time, kissed her roughly before turning around and saying with an ostentatious air:

      "We were only messing around. Ask her if you don't believe me"

      She ran past them and locked herself into the bathroom with the sides of her blouse folded over before her partner was given sufficient time to answer, fresh tears stinging her already world-weary eyes. She slumped behind the heavy wooden door, tears wracking her exhausted body as the feeling of the man she detested lingered on her skin and lips. It was so tempting to run a shower, but she decided against it in case du Paor broke the door down whilst she was washing herself, and then she would feel even more vulnerable than when she had been in the kitchen. The desire she had felt yesterday regarding her longing to sleep with James presently repeated inside her heart, and there was nothing more she wanted than to have him beside her, kissing her and telling her that everything was going to work out all right. It usually was whenever she was with him, until he found out that she used to know that bitch he was presently dating and dumped her before he lost all chances with her. She acted like she hated him towards other people to hide the fact that she still loved him, even if she had resented him for messing her around at the time. She could understand how difficult it was for him when he approached her to tell her—he wouldn't stop apologising for days on end—and they would have remained friends if she hadn't frozen him out of her life, an action she found herself repeatedly regretting.

      At eleven o' clock, James left the grave to return to the mansion before they sent out a search party for him. He had been there since six o' clock that morning and he would have liked to stay longer, but he knew that it wasn't feasible to stand in cold, hard rain until he reached the point of exhaustion. Growly sat in the basket of the balloon beside him on the way back and his hot breath felt welcome against his bare, unpleasantly cold skin. He felt as if his spirit was broken and his ego at its lowest ebb as he miserably reflected on the predicament he was in, although the more he dwelled on the issues, the prospect of being assassinated became less daunting. His dreams were acting like salt poured onto a cut in his entire soul that persisted in reopening, and although the perpetrators were different in each of them, this now made it two dreams where he witnessed Jessie being raped. Even though he was angry with her at the moment, he wouldn't wish for it to happen to her, or anything remotely like it. It wasn't only a petty and vindictive concept, but he couldn't bear the thought of another man having her, either willingly or by force, as he was still her closest friend.

      Jessie was dressed and sitting in James' room, wondering where he could be as she had been waiting for him since shortly before eleven, and there wasn't a trace of him. She was just considering rejoining a sleeping Meowth when she saw the door opening out of the corner of her eye. He entered without noticing her on his bed and was in the throes of taking his t-shirt off in exchange for a dry one when he realised that he wasn't alone. He pulled off the article of clothing with great difficulty due to his shoulder before greeting her and gave her a peck on her cheek instead of their traditional proper kiss. Then again, they were usually together when they woke up in the first place. She could sense that he was still a little hostile so she tried to talk to him without mentioning anything in reference to the day before that she knew would aggravate him, and he could tell that she was still afraid of him by the way she was sitting. His thoughts were confirmed when he experimentally sat beside her and slid his arm around her waist, and he noticed her draw back when his fingers went under the material and touched her on her back. She knew that he was aware of her tension, and he moved his hand, making up an excuse for her by saying:

      "I guess my hands are too cold for you from being out in the rain all morning, right?"

      She smiled apologetically and instantly regretted moving when he'd touched her; she was trying to rectify their problems and she made it obvious that she feared him. She slid her arms around his waist and held him to try and act convincingly that she hadn't flinched out of fear of his strength, and if she knew him like she thought she did, that one action would hurt more than getting his leg jammed in a gin trap. He looked into her eyes for a couple of seconds before getting up and going over to a large cupboard to get a fresh towel to dry off with, beginning to hate himself for pinning his girlfriend the night before as it was leaving a nasty tension in the atmosphere. There was an awkward ambience when it came to him removing the lower half of his clothing, and even Jessie looked away as he finished drying off. She couldn't understand it; they had been naked in front of each other before and had never felt embarrassed about it, and now after they had made love together, she couldn't bring herself to look at him. She wasn't sure if it had to do with her attitude towards Giovanni yesterday, or if she felt guilty about not being with him in the rain when he had visited Weezing or if it was something completely different that was making her feel gauche. He hadn't revealed what he had been doing for so long in the weather, but it was obvious, and if she were right, he'd have rather had his growlithe with him than her. She engaged in general conversation with him to try and draw away from the fact that there was a rift between them that they were choosing to ignore, and it was gradually enlarging.

      Once he was in dry clothes again, he sat beside her again but didn't touch her in case it made her feel uneasy or irritated her; although he was still peeved at her actions, he didn't want any further arguments to develop between them if they wanted their relationship to work out right. She rested her head on his shoulder and asked him if she could do anything to make him feel better whilst she ran her fingers along his forearm, succeeding in having a soothing effect on him. He didn't reply as she was allowing his body to release some of its pent up anger and tension, and he was just feeling relaxed when he looked at her arm whilst she was stroking him. His eyes widened and he slid her knee-length black skirt up a little to check something, and he felt sick to the pit of his stomach when he looked closely at her facial features. She asked him what was wrong when he fixed her skirt, noticing tears in his eyes and he fought back oncoming tears as he whispered:

      "How much did I hurt you yesterday? There are bruises all over your body"

      "Nothing more than I deserved, or at least in my opinion I didn't get enough. I drove you to it, and besides the fact that they don't hurt me, I know you didn't mean to do it. I've had worse"

      "That's not the point. I acted like a jerk last night and you didn't tell me how much I hurt you either afterwards or now, and I feel twice as guilty as I did earlier. I shouldn't have hurt you at all, and I'm ashamed that I did. Did I hurt you anywhere else?"

      "No"

      "Is that the truth, or are you trying to save my conscience?"

      "All right, I'll tell you. I'm really sore where you molested me, and I had difficulty getting comfortable last night. I deserve fifty times what I got and I don't resent you for doing any of it. I'm just grateful that you're more forgiving than I was at the hospital"

      "It wasn't like me to act like such a jerk, and nothing gave me the right to force myself on you. I didn't actually rape you, but I feel as if I did. Nothing gave me the right to hurt you, and I did it anyway"

      "I'm willing to forgive you, so why shouldn't you be able to forgive yourself?"

      "I've never hurt you before, and I'm scared that I've slipped into a bad habit. Just because I wanted to die last night didn't give me an excuse to release my anxiety on you"

      "It's better than bottling it up. I'm lucky that you're speaking to me after what I nearly did, and when I saw Giovanni trying to kill you the first thing that sprang to my mind was whether or not we'd be separated without time enough to fix this, and when he took the knife away, I nearly jumped and screamed to reveal my happiness"

      "Don't start screaming just yet"

      "Huh? What do you mean?"

      "I'm as good as dead Jessie. If it isn't these bastards that are following us, it'll be Giovanni's assassins"

      "What are you on about?"

      He lay back and down-heartedly explained Giovanni's conditions, and the high probability of their incompletion, feeling nothing short of pathetic at the prospect of his oncoming death.

      She had been waiting until she heard the last of her partner's friends leave the luxurious large apartment before running a shower, still feeling dirty from what had happened in the kitchen. She dried herself and ran into her bedroom with her creased clothes in one hand a towel wrapped around her in the other, feeling the desire to wear some fresh clothes after lying in them all night. She noticed a note on her pillow from her partner as she made her bed, explaining that he'd be gone until late that afternoon and that once again he apologised for du Paor's actions. She decided that she might as well develop the films from the camera and make a copy of the tape to give her something to do, and so went down town to put them into a shop that specialised in photography, not feeling like doing it herself this time; she had found the view horrendous enough last night as it was. She recollected them an hour later and felt disgusted at the clarity of the images, half-regretting putting them into a reputable store. She felt mortified as she took them back from the assistant, receiving disgusted looks from him due to the content of them. She bought a stamp and an envelope whilst she was in the city to save making a return trip, and she thought that she might as well get the items as far away from her as soon as possible, hating their very existence. She wrote his full name and address on the envelope and shoved it into the nearest post box she could see, grateful to have bugs in their targets' balloon to find out where they were going without the risk of being sighted again; something that her partner had actually commended her on after he had shown her the footage from the pub for the first time. In a small park which overlooked a lake, jealousy and regret inundated her thoughts as she was eating a light meal, and seeing couples around her was forcing her to remember when James had taken her to beautiful, scenic areas whenever they wanted some privacy together where they could just shut the world out of their lives By the phrase 'taken her', she had obviously meant take the bus and walk a few miles; even though both of them had been able to drive from an early age, neither of them actually owned any means of transport and it left them with no option other than to either take public services or stay where they were at the time. She brushed the crumbs off her lap and took her time walking back to her apartment as she was enjoying having some time away from her inhumane occupation. She cursed both her and her partner's hunger when their employers had first approached them, since if they hadn't been so close to starvation then they wouldn't have considered the job in the first place, or at least she wouldn't have done so. After last night, she wouldn't put anything past her partner. It hadn't seemed too bad at first, and she had enjoyed spending time near James even if she didn't actually speak to him, until he shattered her world by fornicating Jessie. She realised the great contrast between her life from when she was under one employer, and now the wretched excuse for a life she was living, and gathered enough courage to ring her employers to ask for some time off permanently. She found the nearest payphone and put $5 worth of change in it before carefully dialling the two most evil people in the world, or so she believed, to demand to know what right they had to put her through such a traumatic event the night before.

      Ten minutes later…

      Still employed, she angrily hung up the handset and was presently seething with rage at what she had just heard. She snatched her remaining change before storming off towards her apartment, having never felt more used in her entire life, and she wished that she had refrained from mailing the package to James. She wished that someone would try to mug her, just to give her an excuse to beat somebody up to vent her anger, although her fury had been completely redirected. The way she was feeling, she would have readily hugged Jessie and congratulated her for checking that James' bed was always warm, and any inner bliss she had felt before the phone call was now totally shredded. Even though she rarely stood up for herself, there was no chance that she'd take this lying down…

      James had barely touched his food during breakfast since he was lacking hunger from his depression, and Jessie and their pokémon were taking full advantage of large amounts of free food. But not Weezing, he bitterly thought to himself. The prospect of approaching his parents for money was making him feel uneasy; they'd either demand to know why he had failed to inform them sooner, or they'd deliberately turn helping him into a compliment. A constant fight for freedom was what his youth was based on, and turning to his parents to seek their help with a problem was more than a little degrading in his eyes. After all this time that he was supposedly gaining independence, he was still the pathetic urchin that abandoned his family shortly after hitting puberty. He sighed as the final course of the meal was being served, and made a mental note to show that he was proud of his girlfriend, regardless of whatever they thought of her or of her non-wealthy background. He was sharply brought back into the realm of the living when he felt Jessie's hand run over his thigh, an action that they both did whenever they were worried about the other person; it was fast, effective and inconspicuous to everyone else, not to mention the fact that it had driven him wild when they hadn't been dating each other. He did the motion to signify that he was fine by running his fingers through his hair a couple of times—an entirely natural habit—before turning to Jessie and whispering that he was just thinking about how he should mention it to his parents that they were dating without leading onto the obvious question if they had slept together; he wouldn't lie to his parents, but it was still unseemly to sleep with _anyone_ before a wedding. He knew that it was a poor attempt at diverting her attention from what he was really thinking, but in spite of his doubts, it seemed to work and she returned to her meal with a red tint to her normally pale cheeks. He checked that none of the servants were watching them before leaning over and kissing Jessie on her cheek, assuring her that everything would be fine, regardless of what he inwardly believed.

      After their meal, James took Jessie by her hand and called to Meowth to follow them, and once the three of them were together, he gave them a small tour in the rooms that immediately surrounded his wing. Jessie was particular interested in a small room on the opposite side from his room where there was a large collection of handcrafted statues and ornaments of all sizes, and she was amazed when she learned that the majority of them had been carved or chiselled by him, and that the really detailed ones had been given to him by his grandfather. He carefully picked up a pair of mahogany eevees and gave them to her; one had been the original that his grandfather had made, and the other was an almost exact replica; the only flaw being that its eyes were less detailed than its antecedent. He received a passion-filled kiss for his actions, and put a crystal rose first into its box and then into his pocket. It was enthralling to watch whenever beams of sunlight caught the many facets, but he took it for sentimental reasons rather than regarding it as a material possession. It had been the last thing his grandfather had created before doctors had told him that it was destroying his vision, and in his eyes it was the most beautiful out of all that was in the room, Jessie excluded. It was only glass that he had failed to master working with, and to have the most striking embellishment designed for him in the shape of his favourite flower was far more precious and unique than any of the items that had been made exclusively for his parents. He told her to continue looking around the wing with Meowth since he wanted to discuss financial matters with his parents. With one final fervour-hungry kiss, he left the room.

      He checked that his appearance was somewhat respectable before approaching his father's study, feeling shame rebounding inside his body as he was on the verge of asking for money. Presently, he wanted nothing other than to have Jessie beside him for moral support, but knowing that if things turned ugly, a highly intelligent move **wasn't** providing his parents with ammunition. Even by just having her near the room was dangerous in case they regarded her as 'trash' and she heard it. He straightened out the knots that were intensifying inside his stomach as he stretched his hand forward to knock on the panelled, heavy oak door. He waited until he heard a response before entering the room, applying some manners that he had learned without the assistance of an elite school, and saw his father at the large French windows that revealed a breathtaking view of the surrounding landscape, and James noticed that the rain had vanished along with the clouds that had been looming over the horizon, leaving a sense of freshness in its wake. They automatically exchanged warm greetings with each other and, to receive a better view of the estate's grounds, the older man politely invited his son to join him at the balcony. For fear of irritating the older man before being given sufficient time to discuss his appeal, and since James' inner reluctance wasn't visible, he accepted. With such a spectacular view of the region came a sharp drop from where he was standing and the ground below, intensifying his vertigo. James swallowed and tried to prise his gaze away from the daunting drop inches away from him as he explained the quandary he was in. Out of respect, his father remained silent throughout the elucidation of the situation, and quietly said:

      "So that would explain what happened to your face. How many pokémon have you caught so far?"

      "None, it only happened yesterday and with Wee…well, you know I couldn't have done much after the digging"

      "Did you provoke this Giovanni in any way? Or was it a completely unwarranted attack?" 

      "He tried to rape Jessica. I saw red, hit him and when I was leaving, he put a knife to my throat and nearly killed me"

      "Very noble of you to risk your life for her dignity. You must be strong friends after all"

      "Actually, she's a little more than a strong friend to me. I'm currently courting her"

      "Really? Are we talking about the same er, _lady,_ who tried to marry you off whilst being 'invisible'?"

      James' tone turned frostier and he said, through gritted teeth:

      "Yes, and if you'll remember correctly, she was marrying me off to follow your 'death wishes'. I've forgiven her for it, and I want you to show her as much respect as you would any of my old girlfriends that you introduced to me, and that's including Jessibelle"

      "Are you certain that she's the one that you want to settle down with? If you want, I could arrange…"

      "I would be highly insulted if you finish that sentence with anything other than 'a floral display', or something else that needs arranging other than matters of the heart. She might not be wealthy, but I'm not either and to me, money is merely a material possession"

      "I'll respect your choice in female bumblebees, and I hope that you treat her with a proper amount of respect, and keep certain traditions regarding actions on a wedding night in mind"

      "Yeah, I'll be sure to do that. Will you help me with this problem or not?"

      "I'll give you $50,000, and round up the pokémon you need"

      "I'm eternally grateful for your generosity, and I had no idea what I could do regarding a solution to this predicament. What rate of interest do you wish to be repaid at, keeping in mind that my salary is meagre and it will take a few years to repay you completely" 

      "Call it the allowance you never received, and let's use it to forget whatever disagreements we had in the past. You may save your money for something more important. You know how much your mother and I enjoy weddings, for instance"

      "I've barely been courting Jessica for a fortnight, and although I've been thinking about it, I think it's too early to ask for her hand in marriage"

      "I'm not pressurising you to do it, but one way you could repay me is by marrying her and presenting us with some grandchildren, or does that sound like too much commitment at your age?"

      "Every aspect of a perfect marriage must be plotted carefully, and I'll ask her to marry me whenever I feel she's ready for such a commitment of that enormity. May I please be excused?"

      "Of course, it entirely slipped my mind that you are not very manly with heights. One last thing, son"

      "Yes?"

      "Here's the key to the garage. Take whatever vehicle you want from it, and show your lady friend some of the estate's most striking scenery, if you think she'll be interested in it. You needn't return the key, either"

      "Are you certain? I know how expensive everything in it is, and…"  
      "You've said it yourself, money is merely a material possession, and if I taught you how to drive a few of them when you were eleven, I believe I can trust you to drive in them without my assistance now. If it comes to that, most of them can be easily replaced at an auction anyway"

      "Thank you, father"

      "If you feel the need to start a fight again, I insist that you don't hesitate to ask for our assistance"

      Once James had left the room, he sighed and whispered to himself:

      "It's not as if we haven't ruined your life already, one way or another"

      On the opposite side of the heavy oak door, a rush ripped through James' body, which finally removed the tremendous weight that his shoulders had been bearing, and broadly grinning to himself, he contemplated the offer his father had just generously proposed. To prevent him from answering audaciously when he had been picked up on his fear of heights, he had bitten his tongue sharply, and although he hated talking in the same upper class manner like he had never even left home, he felt like his inner discomfort had been worthwhile for once, and that it had paid off far better than originally imagined. He looked at the key in his hand and he decided that showing Jessie and Meowth some of the panorama mightn't be so bad, and once he decided where he would take them, he ignored the pain in his hips and legs and shot up the large marble staircase and onto the second floor to the wing where he'd left his friends, eager to share the uplifting news. He found them in a cosy living room with another large window that overlooked a gargantuan rose garden, all of which were in full bloom, and he stealthily went behind them and slid his arms around Jessie's waist, making her jump. He kissed her along her neck and slithered his hands along her stomach—a trick he knew to make her feel frisky—and told her that they needn't worry about Giovanni's conditions, something that Meowth didn't even know about in the first place. He quickly explained to the perplexed feline what he had agreed to at knifepoint, and then asked them if they wanted to take a tour of the grounds since it was no longer raining, running his fingers tenderly over Jessie's waist. She wondered what exactly was making him treat her like nothing had happened the day before, recalling his reluctance to even kiss her that morning. The feel of his lips against the back of her neck was making every nerve in her body feel electric and she suddenly wished to be alone with him in his bed, preferably without clothing, and she was finding it increasingly difficult to keep her feelings under control. He waved a key in front of her eyes and told her that they had complete access to all of the vehicles in the garage, and once they were out of view of the mansion, she could drive whatever they picked. She turned around and kissed him on his lips, and he could clearly sense her longing for something far more serious, and he realised that his anger regarding Giovanni had disappeared temporarily. They went to one of the kitchens and gathered enough food for them to have either one large or two normal meals whilst they were away from the mansion, ignoring the pleas to accept assistance from the chefs. In the garage, Jessie's eyes caught a glimpse of a red freshly waxed sports car, and she decided that it was what she wanted to drive. James opened a cabinet on the far wall and took out the correct key before jumping into the driver's seat and telling them to join him, which they were in the process of doing so before he finished his statement. The door automatically opened as he began to drive out of the room, and once they were out range from the mansion, James parked the car and swapped seats with Jessie.

      Elsewhere…

     She stormed into the large house they were renting and angrily hunted for her partner. She found him in his bedroom, frantically searching for something, and when he tried to say hello to her, she gave him an uppercut that caused his nose to bleed slightly and demanded to know what right he thought he had to treat her like that. Fearing her newfound backbone, he held his nose and wanted to know what it was she was talking about, already half-knowing the answer. She savagely kicked him in the groin and hurt him for all she was worth before screaming out:

      "WHY THE FUCK DID YOU MAKE ME DO THAT?"

      "Do what?"

      He received an even more painful kick to the groin.

      "You know what. You know how I feel about stuff like that, and then you have to go along and force me to do 'work' for our employers"

      "I don't know what you mean"

      "Let me refresh your memory. You made me take photographs of **that, **and HE was there of all people, and then told me that our employers had demanded we do this"

      "They did…I uh…"

      "LIAR! **You** arranged it all, and **you** wanted this. Not them, and certainly not me"

      "How did you…you little bitch, you rang them didn't you?"

      "Of course I did, I needed to know why photography was so important when we had a film that could be freeze-framed"

      "WHAT THE FUCKING HELL HAVE YOU DONE WITH THE FILM NOW? I've spent nearly an hour looking for it, and you'd better have a good explanation as to where it is"

      "You'll never see it again, or the photographs for that matter, and that's for sure"

      "You little whore, what have you done with them. If I find out you've burnt them…"

      "James has them, or at least he will shortly"

      "WHAT THE FUCKING HELL DID YOU DO THAT FOR? THEY"LL KILL ME!"

      "You should have thought that before you thought about last night. At least you acknowledge that they're on my side with this"

      "I'm not talking about them, I'm talking about the guys that were here last night. If du Paor learns I've lost the tape, he wont let me…I should have let him have you this morning, you know that? It might have eased his mind a bit and maybe…"

      "You bastard, my virginity for something you want? Fat chance! The only thing you need is a vasectomy!"

      "You don't understand, he could kill me for this, literally. Last night was the only reason I'm safe today, and you've ruined that"

      "I don't see why you'd want anything from him in the first place. If…"

      She trailed off as her eyes caught sight of something under a dirty pair of dark trousers and bent down to examine it, gasping as she saw what was underneath it. He ran the back of hand under his nose and smiled contemptuously when he didn't see a trace of blood. He hooked his arm around her and threw her onto the bed with vicious strength, making her feel a bad case of whiplash as she landed painfully on her back, feeling her partner pin her and pull her hair backwards to make her look into his eyes. He thrived off her fearful gaze and hissed:

      "Don't like my habit, huh? How do you think I met your precious 'James'? He's not half as nice as you think him to be, and you don't know the half of it"

      "Ow, you're hurting me"

      "I don't care, since you never bothered to tell me you're still a virgin. Your virginity will only be a mere memory when I'm through with you"

      She screamed out in pain as he slapped her across her face and forced himself on top of her, and once he had dealt with her clothing, he raped her mercilessly. He cherished her pain as the ordeal continued and when he was done with her, he fixed his jeans and made a point of shooting up in her range of vision. He tore the sheet she was using to cover herself up with out of her grasp and laughed as she tried to keep her body hidden from him, stinging from the pain she had never felt before, and he kissed her roughly before saying:

      "You shouldn't have sent it, _honey,_ and next time you have a few hours to spare, ask Henry if he'll tell you about what James would do for drugs. I can't scratch the surface on his record, and I wouldn't have done most of what he did, and get this, he did some of the worst stuff before getting involved with you. I'll bet he never told you about his past, did he? I'm going out for a while, and before you think of leaving, the same people hire us and I don't think they'll be too pleased if you misplace yourself. You know what they've threatened us with if we consider quitting this job, so use your thick skull before you do anything. If you've developed a taste for sex, I'll tell du Paor and he'll be only too happy to help"

      "Get bent"

      "Rather not. After all, I've got a new playmate. See you around"

      "PISS OFF AND DON'T COME BACK"

      The grounds in the mansion, 15:37 hours…

      After listening to her boyfriend's instructions for nearly two hours, and much to their relief, they were finally where James had wanted to show them. Parking on a high, verdant cliff that looked down on a steep waterfall, James convinced Jessie that it was safe to join him as he sat at the edge of the precipice, and once her fear had disappeared, she looked down properly. The powerful rush of the waterfall dissolved into a serene, clear azure lagoon with a lush surrounding dale, the jade grass filled with the quiet calls from wild pokémon. Although he generally had a fear of heights, looking at the scene below him relaxed him instead of making him afraid, and the fact that Jessie and Meowth were safely beside him was almost enough to make him feel complete, the only other thing he desired being Weezing alive and floating beside him. Jessie kept looking down at her feet nervously, hating being able to see a large drop directly below her without her feet firmly supporting her body, and James noticed her discomfort. He slinked both arms around her waist and playfully whispered:

      "Trust me, it's deep enough to dive into if you're worried about falling, so it's impossible to die at this cliff. Unfortunately, I speak from experience. Of course, it would be a terrible shame to get you wet, since you don't have any spare clothes to change into"

      "A terrible shame is that you keep trying to turn me on, and even though I'll admit it's working, we can't do anything about it"

      "Yet"

      "What are you two whispering about now? It better not have anything to do with throwing Me-owth into that water"

      "It doesn't, I was just telling Jessie how great she is at driving"

      "Why don't I believe you? For one thing, I lost eight of my lives in that trip"

      "Firstly, leave my driving out of this, and secondly, you wouldn't like to know what he really said to me"

      "Forget I said anything. Did I hear something about you trying to kill yourself at this place, Jimmy?"

      "For your information I didn't attempt suicide. I was here with someone I used to be close to, and they thought it would be hilarious to push me over the edge, knowing I hate heights. I got over it once I realised that my fall hadn't been fatal"

      "Who threw you?"

      "You wouldn't know her, she was just someone I used to go out with years ago. So what do you guys think of this place?"

      "It's like something out of a fantasy, and twice as romantic"

      "It's beautiful, with the exception of you two fawning over each other. Get a room!"

      "All right, we get the picture. What do you want to do then Meowth, if having a private minute with Jessie isn't an option?"

      They continued with their friendly argument for a little while before James told Meowth to get into the car to leave him with Jessie for a few minutes, wanting to show some affection towards her after the way he had pinned her the day before, without revolting Meowth in the process. They moved back from the edge in case James' memories of being pushed off the cliff were refreshed, and he whispered how sorry he was for the way he had deliberately hurt her, and although she said that she was over it, he could still see a trace of discomfort in her eyes. He kissed her neck slowly to try and ease the awkward atmosphere, and felt joy soar through his body when she pushed him back on the grass and moved so she could meet his lips with her own. He allowed his desires to overthrow his self-control and slid his fingers along her skin, enjoying the soft whimpers she was making as he touched her. Meowth made another attempt to shatter their hormonal actions, and they realised that there was no point in continuing if he was going to interrupt every time they were 'getting more comfortable' in each other's presence. They smoothed out the wrinkles in their clothes and laid out the food they had brought with them on a blanket on the grass to have a picnic in the meadow, finally feeling safe from their attackers.

      In the bathroom…

      Although she looked remotely placid on the outside, inside she was seething and screaming for her own safety. She had fled into her room and then into the bathroom, regardless of the fact that she was alone in the large house. She had scrubbed herself until her skin bled; feeling tainted inside and not being able to do anything about it was driving her insane. She stood in front of the mirror and viewed her figure with tear-brimmed eyes to see how much dirt remained on her skin; feeling like everything she had ever stood for had just been broken. She firmly believed that her body could never be rid of the insult she had suffered that day after a defiant attempt to remove the odious pigment from her hair, and she was aghast to see the murky tint that lingered on her natural tone. Her eyes spotted one of her partner's razors beside the sink, and slightly stretching, she took it into her hand and worked at removing the blade from its barred enclosure. She cursed as she heard the front door open and nicked the top of her finger in her moment of panic, not wanting to see him after the way he had stolen more than just her dignity. She choked out in pain when she felt the incision at her fingertip, and this alerted her partner of her whereabouts. She finally freed the blade and took it in her right hand, discarding the remainder of the razor, and pulled the sleeve of her blouse backwards until her left wrist was totally uncovered. She paused momentarily as she heard her partner knock and gently say her name to try and talk to her, and then stabbed the blade into her exposed skin, screaming in blinding pain as she did so. He broke the door down and blanched when he saw his friend standing with her hand pressing into her vein that was bleeding copiously, cautiously approaching her as she screamed at him that if he came any closer, she'd continue pulling the blade. He wanted to run over and help her, but as he saw the blood drip on the floor, he believed her when she said she'd continue with the process. He cautiously said her name a few times until he saw that she was too upset to carry out her threat, pain destroying any possibility of the procedure being completed, and then helped her take the sharp implement out of her body. He reviled the sound of suction involved as he removed the thin metal from her vein, and felt even more disgusted when he realised what it was. He endeavoured to calm her down and placed her hand under water that surged from the cold tap, and she was so wound up in her hysterics that she didn't push him away from her, even though that was what she wanted more than anything. He wrapped her wrist in a towel, and when he saw the short time span it took to transform into an eerie crimson, he escorted her out of the bathroom and towards their car to drive her to the nearest hospital, wherever that may be. 

      She looked as though she was close to fainting, so after he had put his seatbelt on, he tipped her head forward to ensure that it was receiving enough blood, and his heart nearly shattered when he saw her flinch under his touch. He could barely remember what he had done before as he had mistakenly taken a short-term memory loss tablet earlier, the same type he had drugged their targets with only a few days ago. He could barely concentrate on his driving as she became paler and groggier, and he was terrified when he realised that he didn't know what he had done when he had taken the wrong lozenge, and the situation worsened when she lost consciousness. He parked proficiently and carried her in through the main doors, calling for assistance from the staff, hoping that she'd survive.

      Much later that evening…

      They had driven to the glade they had seen from the top of the cliff, and once Meowth had fallen asleep, James took Jessie's hand and courteously assisted her out of the car. He pulled her back against the side of the car and greeted her lips warmly with his own as she giggled at the concept of finally being alone. Their hormones controlled their actions once more and she felt stimulated when he ran his hands along her skin under her skirt; she would much rather have him feel her this way than the method he had used the night before. It seemed that although evidence events of the day before were visible on their bodies—particularly James' face—they seem to have forgotten it for that instant, and their actions were becoming harder to control. Jessie was surprised when he pulled away, but her surprise quickly changed into excitement when he pulled his t-shirt off and whispered:

      "I don't know about you, but I really feel like going for a swim. Thing is, I haven't got any towels with me, so can I trust you to dry me off?"

      "I'll dry you off, but only if you scrub my back"

      He grinned as he unzipped his jeans and warned her how deep the water was, but she didn't appear to be too worried as she joined him in removing their articles of clothing. James felt sickened in the water as he saw the bruises he had given her, and he would have mentioned something to Jessie about it when she rubbed her body against his, kissing him deeply as she made her desires known. She shivered out of pleasure as he used all the tricks he knew to made her in the mood for sex on her, and after swimming around in the warm, moonlit water for a few minutes, he lifted her out and placed her in the long grass, finally performing what they had been yearning for since James found out that his father would solve his problem. After one final cry in pleasure from Jessie, he lay on top of her, drained from the last twenty minutes, and kissed her neck lovingly. He was just about to whisper how much he loved her when Meowth's screeching interrupted them:

      "Will you put some clothes on and drive us back? I thought we'd be back by the time I woke up, but your screaming would wake up a deaf well-fed Snorlax! How moans are supposed to show you're enjoying yourself is beyond me"

      Irate at being disrupted after peaking his pleasure levels, James stood up and dressed as he glared at Meowth, wishing that he hadn't told his girlfriend that she could be as loud as she wanted as nobody would be able to hear them from that spot. He drove the whole way back this time, since he was the faster driver of the two and it would mean that the sooner they got back, the sooner the teenagers could be alone for a while. Once Meowth had fallen asleep properly, they went into James' bedroom together, and Jessie realised what luxury it was to have sex on silk sheets with the person she truly loved.

      The highly irritating ticking of the clock was slowly driving him demented, and he hadn't heard anything about his friend; he didn't even know if she'd yet regained consciousness. His memory had returned as he had only swallowed one tablet, and had steered clear from alcoholic substances as he knew that it if he had drank anything, he'd lose all hope of remembering what he had done to make her so afraid of him, and now he was wishing he didn't remember. Her screams of pain echoed throughout his skull, and if only he would have known that by taking one wrong tablet it would result in his partner losing her virginity and attempting to take her own life… He shuddered and wished he'd never followed James' footsteps by meeting du Paor; James' excuse was witnessing something he shouldn't have seen, and his was that when he met Henry, he had wanted to score an easy woman, as well as whatever else he could get in the process. He was approached by a twenty-something medic and was told that he should stay in a courtesy room until the next day, as although she was awake, his partner would be too weak to receive any visitors until she had fully recovered and her blood-count was back to normal. He followed the young woman and thanked her for her hospitality, and as he lay in the hospital bed, her naked body beneath his own haunted his eyes, and his ears heard nothing but her scream from the bathroom.


	16. September 16th, 2000

                                                Saturday, September 16th 2000            

      James examined Jessie's bruises whilst she was still asleep, feeling absolutely horrified at what his anger had driven him to two nights ago. He trailed his fingers along her jaw; faintly touching the marks that his fingers had left in Team Rocket Headquarters when he had shown her what was on the television screen. He noticed her stirring in her sleep and quickly retracting his hand, not wishing to draw attention to his guilt straight away if she did wake up. She seemed more than a little happy to wake up in his bed and after whispering 'Good morning' to him, she immediately pulled his head forward to kiss him, enjoying the idea of sleeping with him in a bed that one of them had grown up in, or at least until they were thirteen. She lay on her back and slid him onto her stomach, making her lust completely obvious to him, and he was just getting ready to comply when they heard a knock on the door. He called for whomever it was to wait a minute and leapt out of bed to put on a pair of jeans, telling Jessie to do the same in a hushed voice. She asked him what was wrong and as quietly as possible, he whispered:

      "It's improper to have sex before marriage, and if my parents find out about last night, they'll go ballistic. Just wait in the bathroom for a moment, I promise it won't be for long"

      "Okay, but what if they heard us, and then find out that you tried to deny it?"

      "I can't worry about that right now. Just hurry up with it!"

      He kissed her lightly as he buttoned his jeans, and before opening the door, he waited until she had safely bolted into the en-suite bathroom. Wearing only his still-damp jeans, he opened the door to find out why he was disturbed at that hour of the morning, thankful that they had both been awake when the person had knocked. It was Hopkins, and James noticed him trying to conceal the smile that was playing across the older man's face at something on his bare chest. James looked down and folded his arms to cover the fresh hickey that Jessie had given him during the previous night before asking what was required of him, trying to sound as if he usually looked like that first thing in the morning. Handing the young adult a large envelope, he pointed to an area just under his lips and said:

      "This arrived through the mail for you this morning, and may I be so bold as to say that there is a smut right there on the young master's chin? Yes, that's the spot"

      James could feel his cheeks beginning to ignite as he saw that there was lipstick on the back of his hand, and he took the package from the man-servant with as much dignity that he could muster. He thanked him, even if he wasn't sincerely grateful for receiving a package in his home, no doubt from the assailants that followed them. He was preparing to close the door and return to Jessie when he heard the older man say something else to him in a jovial manner.

      "Master James?"

      "Yes, Hopkins?"

      "Why exactly would a man of your stature be wearing lipstick, when he is obviously alone in his personal quarters?"

      "It makes me feel pretty"

      "Are you certain that's the real reason, Master James?"

      "If you are implying that Miss Jessica is here, please feel free to check to your heart's content, but all I ask you is not to disturb her in her room when you discover that she isn't here. She might still be sleeping"

      "Oh that won't be necessary Master James. After all, she can't have her undergarments with her, as I assume they are hers on the floor over there. Or perhaps, do they make the young sir feel pretty too?"

      "That shall be all, Hopkins"

      "As always, it has been a pleasure to serve you, Master James"

      He shut the door and waited until he heard the butler's footsteps descending the marble staircase before tossing the envelope on the ground and telling Jessie that she could come out from the bathroom, and when she did, she had a towel wrapped around her as she pointed and laughed at him. He joined in with her and held her close to him as he kissed her between fits of laughter, and when she was off her guard, he threw her towel to the far end of the room. She didn't mind as he did it, and she worked on taking his jeans off as he whispered:

      "I'll need to teach you a lesson for laughing at my reason for wearing lipstick, so if I were you I'd get back to bed"

      "What will happen if he tells your parents?"

      "They can throw us out, not help us with Giovanni's conditions, or do whatever they want. They can't complain, after all, I'm only working on giving them a grandchild"

      "Do you think we're ready for that?"

      "I personally think we're too young, but they needn't know that we're 'enjoying the fruits' without 'working on growing a fresh piece of fruit'"

      "You're right again. That seems to be happening a lot lately"

      "It's not the only thing that's happened a lot lately, is it? I don't know about you, but I was more than a little peeved at being disturbed earlier. Do you want to continue?"

      "Naturally, but what did he want in the first place?"

      "If you want to enjoy sex, hold that question until we're finished. Otherwise, put your clothes back on"

      "Huh? I don't know what you mean"

      "Another package, and I haven't opened it yet. I suggest that we forget continuing and get dressed properly before looking at it together. Is that what you want, or do you have an alternative suggestion?"

      "I'll get dressed"

      After a twenty-minute wait, they were both sitting on the bed as James tore the top off the envelope, not knowing what to expect this time. James' hand hit against a video and he took it out of the package, finding 'Thursday nights can be so much fun, eh James?' written on the outside. He left it aside and pulled out the remaining items, which were A4 photographs that sent a chill right down his spine; the opening one was of Weezing in the middle of a battle against the twerps, clearly taken weeks beforehand, and the next few depicted him in the condition that James had found him, causing him to run to the bathroom and throw up, images once more overwhelming his thoughts. Jessie knelt at his side and rubbed his back as his body contemplated vomiting again, and when the nausea passed, he flushed the toilet and rinsed his mouth out with water from the sink, crying frenziedly all the while. She held him next to her as his body was distorted with sobs and quietly asked him if that was what he had looked like when James had opened the box, and her own tears trickled into his hair when she heard him answering in the affirmative. She waited until he was gaining control over his sobs before whispering in a comforting tone:

      "It's okay, they can't hurt us here. Why didn't you tell me what Weezing looked like? There's no way I'd have let you move him on your own"

      "And that's why I didn't tell you about him"

      "Cut the macho crap. It hurt you more than it would have hurt me"

      "It's not macho crap, thank you very much. If the sight of it made me want to run away screaming, what would you have done? You know as well as I do that I have a better ability to deal with this sort of thing, and I also didn't want anybody else to see him like that"

      "But this time was different. I'll admit that I wouldn't have handled the situation very calmly, but it would have saved you from touching your pokémon"

      "How am I supposed to allow myself to get over him if they continue with this taunt? It's hard enough to accept I'll never see him again without these people making a travesty of his death"

      "These people have no sense of compassion, either towards other people, or towards other people's feelings. I think you should burn the remainder of the pictures and the tape; it can't be anything of importance. They're probably just implements being used in twisted attempts to break your spirit, or worse"

      "No, that's not an option. I have this weird feeling inside me that I have to look at all of the stuff, and I'm almost certain that there's something else. I can't explain it"

      "Don't do it yet anyway, you've upset yourself enough for one morning"

      "I guess you're right. Do you want to go and see what Meowth's doing? Also, whenever I take you out shopping again, I'll buy you the most expensive lipstick I see to guarantee that it's NON-SLIP!"

      13:00 hours, Lazuli City…

      He turned into his partner's room with a large bouquet of white and red roses in his arms, anticipating seeing his friend for the first time since she had been unconscious when he had admitted her. She was still groggy from the amount of anaesthetic she was under, and she was a wreck to look at; she had vicious-looking needles attached to her at five different points of her vein, her hair was matted from the car journey, and when she moved slightly, he could see some red on the bandage securely wrapped around her wrist. He left the flowers on the dresser beside her and kissed her cheek as he sat down on a stool beside the bed, ignoring the person behind him as they drew the partition shut, muttering incoherently about the disgrace young people were nowadays or something similar. She seemed to be concentrating on his face for a few minutes before hoarsely saying:

      "Did we sleep together?"

      He felt queasy as he heard the choked words leave her mouth, and felt slightly relieved when he heard her finish the sentence in an equally raucous voice:

      "Otherwise I'd feel really embarrassed about being in this outfit in the same room as someone who was merely an acquaintance"

      "We were pretty close yesterday, and we ended up sleeping together"

      "I vaguely remember seeing you on top of me, but whether or not that was a reverie was hard to tell. Have I known you long?"

      "Don't worry, we're really close friends and have been for a long while, and yesterday was your first time"

      "Maybe that would explain why I feel a slight twinge there. How long have we been seeing each other?"

      "Not as long as you'd think"

      She took his hand with her right hand, not being able to move her left one at all, and he suddenly realised that she didn't know why she was in hospital, and that she thought he was her boyfriend. He didn't want to tell her that he didn't feel for her quite as strongly as she did towards him, but if her memory came back anytime soon, he'd never be able to speak to her again. He held her hand within both of his own and kissed her fingertips to try and make her feel better; although he wasn't altogether keen on her as a girlfriend, he might as well do a few things that suggested that he was to make her feel better before she refused to speak to him again. She stretched slightly to stroke the side of his face and whispered:

      "You're really cute, have I told you that yet?"

      "I haven't heard that in the whole of my life, including since I, er, expressed interest in you"

      "This is going to sound really stupid, but how did I get here? They wont tell me anything, and my wrist is sore, even with this medication"

      "You had an accident in the kitchen with a cleaver, and I drove you here almost straight away"

      To avoid any further questions that would make him squirm as he lied to her, he leant forward and gave her a proper kiss, hoping that she'd forget about her memory loss for a few minutes to go back to thinking that their sex had been consensual. His guilt trebled inside him as he realised that she thought that they were happy together, and he didn't want to splinter her bliss in her presently suicidal condition in case she tried to complete what she started. He actually enjoyed sharing a kiss with her—it was far better than he imagined—but it was cut short by the medic entering the room and asking him to leave the room whilst they ran some tests on her. Before making his exit, he brushed his lips gently against hers, promising that he'd return to her as he squeezed her right hand soothingly, and his friend watched contentedly after him until the partition was drawn around her bed. He dolefully waited outside, sighing exasperatedly to himself as he fretted about explaining their inhumane occupation to his smitten 'girlfriend'. 

      After he had made an appearance with his girlfriend and pokémon, he whispered to Jessie that he wanted to discuss the matter of the money with his parents, when in reality he used a different passage up to his bedroom, one of the secret ones that the servants didn't know about. He continued to look at the photographs as he sat on his bed; desperate to know if there really was another sinister item amongst them, and he cursed loudly once it was apparent that he was right. In his hands were photographs of Jessibelle in various stages of clothing, and nothing short of sheer terror was displayed across her face, indicating that she was being forced to partake in the procedure. He suddenly felt like he had been punched in the stomach by a fist of ice when he came across one of the final pictures, realising that his realistic dream had been a vision of what had happened that night; the figure from his past was on top of Jessibelle—NOT Jessie as he had thought—and the knife was pressed so hard against her throat that a faint line of blood was visible on the forced white skin. He involuntarily moved the neck of his t-shirt away from his throat—it was his sub-conscious' method of revealing his discomfort—and he decided to look at the video whilst Jessie wasn't there in case the content was too disturbing for her. He went over to the television in the corner of the room [he never really used it anyway] and pushed the tape into the slot of the VCR before returning to his bed with the remote controls. It started out with Jessie getting changed before sharply switching to Jessibelle crying {leaving him with the impression that the recording of Jessie had either been accidentally erased, or more likely, they had sent it to coat his wounds in salt before tormenting him in another manner} as the figure from his past had his arm wrapped around her throat tightly, using the same knife to cut her dress down the middle, thus removing the buttons. James hated himself for watching and pressed the fast-forward button when he saw du Paor preparing to defile her; he had hated that bastard when he lived in an alley, and he sure as hell hated him now after all the pain that had been inflicted on him when he had gone crawling to him for drugs, not to mention what du Paor had done to him the last time they'd crossed paths. He hated himself for the various actions he had undergone to get something that would make him feel good for two minutes, and even then the depression that followed made him feel twice as bad as he had initially felt. He knew that the people whose lives he ruined would never forgive him, and out of all the 'tasks' he had carried out, three stung his conscience and never disappeared.

      After the partition was drawn, she angrily rubbed at her mouth to try and remove the taste of her partner's lips, hating the thought of allowing him to kiss her. She felt too weak to argue with him, and if she continued with her bout of 'amnesia', he might actually treat her half-decently. She had once dreamt of nothing more than to get close with him once she realised that James would never come back to her, and now she wished that she had never met him. Her inner thoughts were becoming darker as the medic proceeded with her check-up, and she couldn't believe that he had tried to tell her that she'd had an accident in the kitchen with a cleaver, after already trying to remove any possibility that he had raped her. She wondered how stupid he must be if he thought she had amnesia; when she had said that she felt a twinge in her nether regions, he should have realised that she wouldn't be able to feel it due to the amount of palliative she was under. The analgesic couldn't take away the steady throb that was in her wrist, and she had to try not to move it if she wanted it to be remotely painless, since she was already taking the maximum that a patient could receive. After an incredibly short fifteen minutes, the medic left and told her 'boyfriend' that he could return to the patient, but not to over-tire her. She made her anger dissolve and pretended that she was ecstatic to see him again, wanting to see how uncomfortable she could make him, and if he'd continue lying to protect himself. She sat up a little and held his hand, feeling nauseous from the charade as well as from the foreign substances in her body, and kissed him on his cheek to greet him again, trying to act as besotted as she could. She found a new way to make him feel uncomfortable when he asked her how the check-up went, and pretended to be confused as she hoarsely said:

      "She told me that a cleaver couldn't have caused this as the blade would be much too fat to cause that wound, and she wouldn't tell me anything else when I asked her. Now that can't be true"

      "Uh, actually…"

      "After all, you would have had to have lied to me to tell me that I had a kitchen-related accident when I didn't, and we both know that even the smallest of lies are the foundations for flaws in a relationship"

      "I…actually…I found you with the cut, and I wasn't there to see what exactly happened to you, and I assumed it was a cleaver, since you were in the kitchen…"

      "Oh. So I guess the only person who I could ask is myself, huh?"

      "Yeah, something like that. Maybe you can tell me when you remember, unless it's too painful to think about it"

      "It's only painful in one sense. It can't have been deliberate, I mean I'm so happy to be going out with you that I couldn't have tried to kill myself after losing my virginity to you, now could I?"

      "You'll remember it eventually. Don't worry yourself about it until then, the last thing you want at this point is a migraine"

      He was beginning to feel more than a little guilty as she continued with her innocent questions, and he had nearly left the room out of shame when she said the last sentence. He brushed away any stray strands that were across her face before leaning forward and kissing her as lovingly as he could to try and keep her happy. Even though it was unintentional, she started choking as he attempted a proper kiss and she enjoyed seeing the look of sheer embarrassment—she had choked because his tongue had cut off her oxygen supply from the position she was lying in. If she wasn't so disgusted with him, she would have probably found the red tint to his cheeks cute, but after the way he had raped her to the brink of suicide, she hated sharing the same air as him, never mind sharing a proper kiss. At least she held an advantage over him: she knew exactly what had happened in the bathroom, and what had led up to it, whereas he was buckling under tremendous self-compressing pressure to make sure she didn't find out about his actions.

      James had pressed stop after five minutes of high-speed fast-forwarding of the tape, having seen more than enough of Jessibelle's ordeal to last him a lifetime. He couldn't bring himself to watch any more than what he had already seen as it not only showed a lack of respect for her dignity, he couldn't watch her endure the pain she was in as man after man attacked her for the same thing, and he automatically eliminated du Paor as a possibility as their attackers—even though he hadn't received a sufficient shufti of the two assailants in the forest when he had been attacked nearly two weeks ago, he knew that it couldn't be him as the hand on the dagger had been white, as had been the two people that had sped away from him in the city. He wanted to smash the tape after ejecting it, but an annoying thought that niggled the back of his mind was that there was a possibility that the identity of the people may be revealed through a subtle clue in the footage. He swore with venom when realisation that he would need to watch the entire footage in normal speed hit him, in case anything was noticeable that could assist him, but he knew that he wasn't capable of watching it then. After his tenacity and preliminary anger swept itself out of his system, he grabbed the envelope and heatedly stuffed the photographs into it, and with the key to the garage securely in his pocket; he readied himself to visit his ex-fiancée. He punched his right hand against the wall on his way out to vent some of his disturbing desires, and the sound of it vibrated throughout the walls in the vicinity of his bedroom.

      The moment Jessie saw him she knew something was irritating her boyfriend, and she hoped that it was due to the photographs and not something his mother had said to him, believing the story that she had been fed earlier, and perplexity overwhelmed her as she saw him stride down the marble staircase since she had clearly seen him walk down the western corridor almost twenty minutes ago. His expression was lost in his own thoughts and she was becoming worried as he failed to answer her when she said his name, and he seemed genuinely surprised to see her blocking his way, almost as if he had forgotten she was in the room. She snapped her fingers playfully in front of his eyes to focus his attention on her, and once she was certain that his attention was as undiluted as it could be, she whispered:

      "What's wrong?"

      "Nothing"

      "We both know that's not true—you were so wrapped up in your thoughts that you didn't see or hear me until you practically walked into me. What's wrong? I might be able to help"

      "I've decided to visit Jessibelle since I'm in the area, and I'm just thinking about what I'll say to her"

      "Why are you bothering wasting your time with that strumpet? Isn't it enough that she made you leave home?"

      "I've told you before about talking about her in that way. I've forgiven her, so why can't you?"

      "She tried to force you to marry her"

      "And you tried to help her if memory serves rightly. I'm in love with you, not her, and every time I hear you talk about her that way makes me feel so angry. We've solved our problems and she knows she can't have me, yet you still see her as a threat for no reason"

      "I have good reasons actually, and none of my exes ever made me leave home. She's not worth your time"

      "I'm going to see her, regardless of whatever you might think, and what's more, I don't want you to talk to her. If you want to come with me, then you can stay in the car whilst I talk to her. If you don't trust us, you can take a pair of binoculars and spy on us for the time I'm inside"

      "Why wont you let me talk to her?"

      "I don't know about you, but to turn up at an ex's house with a spouse would seem like I'd be rubbing in the fact that I've found someone better than her. How would you feel if someone you loved showed up with someone who looks slightly like you? Especially when they have been yearning to tussle with you since the last time you both met"

      "It's not like that"

      "That's right Jess, it isn't like that. You're so wound up in the past that the present is slipping out of your comprehension. I'm going now, and if you want to come, you can stay in the car. It's not as if I'll be with her all night; I haven't seen her since the last time I was here, and you get to see me every time you want to. I want to talk to her to find out what I've missed, and just to see how she is"

      "How do I know if I can trust her with you?"  
      "Like I said, if you're so worried about me, take some binoculars. If anything goes on which you don't like, break in and 'rescue me'"

      "What if she tries anything with you?"  
      "She won't. Besides, do you feel you can't trust me with her? That the moment I'm left with another woman I'll hit on them?"

      "No. I'll come"

      "Good, at least then I won't be on my own for the journey. How about you, Meowth?"

      "Count me in. After all, you can't expect Jessie to wait for you on her own can you?"  
      "No, and that's why I was hoping you would come" 

      To try and sweeten her up a bit, Jessie was given the option of driving in whatever vehicle she felt like, and it seemed to have a positive effect on her. She chose the same car they had used the day before, allowing her love of driving to overthrow her detestation of the location they were driving to, and he gave her instructions for what direction to drive in whenever they met a crossroads. He fingered the edge of the envelope abstractedly; he felt guilty about lying to Jessie about the reason why he was visiting his former fiancée, but at the same time he didn't want to tell her that he had looked at the rest of the photographs without her, and he certainly didn't want to tell her what their content was. He knew that he was beginning to zone out again and shoved the package into the glove box before he became too distracted that he'd give a wrong direction, and his comrades knew that he was clearly wound up about something.

      Jessie drove into the grounds of an estate roughly one third of the size of James' house, and she despised the looks that James was getting from the guards at the standard checkpoints as they clearly recognised him. He told her where to park and kissed her on the cheek before getting out of the car and saying 'Goodbye' to his friends and heading towards the familiar grand entrance. She watched him walk away from her with a sense of betrayal echoing inside her heart, even though she knew that she had no reason to test his idea of what faithful was, and she felt glad when she saw him having some difficulty getting in. The guard on duty was informing him that the lady of the house didn't wish to see anybody, and the more James protested for the guard just to tell her that he was there, the more angry he got. The commotion alerted Jessibelle and she came to the door and invited him in, looking far from her usually elegant self, and James knew immediately that she had been crying from the red evident around her eyes and nose. Jessie soured in the car when she saw her boyfriend enter her house, and she was disrupted from vicious inner thoughts by Meowth saying:

      "Didn't he have something with him?"

      Jessie suddenly realised that the scratch-cat was correct and removed the disturbing envelope from the glove box, contemplating giving it back to him, until she remembered how he had been so specific he had been for her to remain in the car. She wondered why he'd give her the photographs of Weezing that she had seen that morning, and she placed them in the glove box again once she was certain that she wouldn't return them in case he became angry with her about it. She sighed and rubbed her temples to release some of the tension that had been building up inside her since she had heard where they were going, and engaged in some idle conversation with Meowth once she was sufficiently relaxed. James' nerves on the other hand, were tightening as he went into the lounge with Jessibelle; he knew they were visible from where Jessie was, but if he did anything that Jessie would sulk about in her vision range, she had the potential of driving away without him.

      Jessibelle was wearing a full-length lush bathrobe over clothes that she normally would have turned her nose up at, her hair lacked attention and she wasn't wearing any make-up, and James knew exactly why she had tried to look as dishevelled as possible. Trying to use as much tact as he could, he tearfully made her aware of the package he had received that morning without mentioning his mutilated pokémon, or at least not just yet. She was silent for a moment whilst fresh salty tears welled up in her ultramarine eyes, and she broke down again when he put his hand on her back to comfort her, turning into his arms for a sense of security. She buried her face into his shoulder as he ran his fingers through her hair soothingly, and she could feel moisture slide down her neck that had originated in his own eyes. He rocked her gently to try and control both of their emotions whilst inwardly hoping that Jessie didn't read their actions to be something more than it actually was, and felt startled when he felt Jessibelle wince as his fingers hit a certain part of her back. She jolted away from him as he touched another cut on her back and he automatically apologised, folding the front of her bathrobe into its proper position as he asked her if she was in much pain from the attack. She stood up and closed the antique mahogany door before telling him that she didn't know the extent of it herself, and asked him to tell her. He concentrated on an exclusively designed rug on the mahogany floor out of respect whilst he heard her cry in pain whenever she twisted her shoulders awkwardly as she struggled to remove her clothes, and hoped that no matter what the extent of damage to her was, Jessie wouldn't barge in out of jealousy and give her more than what she already had. He looked at her with a mixture of shock and compassion when he saw her battered bare skin; although her hands covered her private areas, the damage that was still visible to him was horrific. She turned around and he saw the numerous, inhuman cuts that had been slashed across her back and he made no attempt to stop the tears that were now rapidly falling from his eyes.

      He found himself filled with misery and pain as he looked away whilst she gathered her clothes and felt high depths of pity for his friend since she did nothing to deserve what she received from the people who hated him, for whatever reason that may be. She sat beside him and cried acrimoniously as she said that she'd had something injected into her, and she needed to wait six months before doctors would be able to tell her if she had contracted HIV, and she was barely decipherable as she elucidated that she'd never be capable of bearing children after the attack. He swallowed and showed her all of the lacerations on his body from his attackers without taking his jeans off in case it caused her to panic, and he bit the inside of his lip to stop himself from crying out as she touched the angry marks that the gin trap had left on his calf. She moved her fingers away from his leg and breathed a barely audible gasp when she saw his impressive tattoo, asking him how painful it had been to get done, and he diffidently explained that he didn't know because it had happened when he was drunk. She winced as she caught the cut on her throat against his shoulder after he had put his t-shirt back on again, and she then asked him to follow her upstairs to show him something, and he willingly agreed, not wanting to disappoint her in the present state she was in. He followed her into her bedroom and politely stood by the door as she picked up a large box from underneath her bed and placed it on the bed, inviting him to sit beside her as she opened it.

      Photographs and other mementoes from their childhood relationship was what filled the box, and the complete collection of all of the romantic letters that he had sent her from Pokémon Tech rested on top of the other items. Even if he had never been fond of their engagement, he had always tried to be as nice to her as possible and treated her with the same respect that he had shown to his other girlfriends. He picked up a piece of tissue and unfolded it until it revealed a pressed rose—the first he had ever given her—, and fondly remembered the time he had given it to her. She gave him a photograph of them when they had been together in the grounds at James' house when they had been roughly twelve or so, and he put it in his wallet with the other photographs he always carried with him. She noticed something else alongside the pictures and quietly made a comment about neither of them being able to have a honeymoon as virgins, fresh tears blurring her vision for a different reason this time. He felt idiotic for using his wallet when he clearly knew what was in it, and he held her whilst he tried to think of something he could say with fear of making a mistake that would hurt her feelings. He interlocked his fingers with hers as he whispered that he didn't wait until he was married since he was an outlaw, and that problems would probably present themselves at the altar before he could technically marry anybody. She allowed the tears to falls freely down her face as he spoke calmly to him and melted inwardly as he leant forward and kissed her forehead; a habit he had always used whenever anybody was upset as it usually made them feel better, or at least when he had been soothing any upset _female._ She looked up into his eyes and asked him if he'd do her a favour to make her feel better, and she began to feel nervous as he gently brushed the tears away from her face with his thumb. He asked her what it was that she wanted and she quietly replied that she had never received a proper kiss goodbye from him, and her heart rate accelerated as he looked into her eyes. He didn't know what to do with her request; she deserved whatever she wanted after what she had gone through, but then again he didn't want to cheat on Jessie, especially when he had told her that he could be trusted. She thoroughly regretted saying it now as he probably thought that she had allowed her in to see if she could convince him to return to her, which although it wasn't a bad thought, it wasn't what her original thoughts had been. She broke her look away from his eyes and unlinked their fingers as she prepared to move as far away from him as possible out of humiliation, and nothing could have made her expect him to turn her around to face her and kiss her deeply. He used his memory to find out where he could pull her closer to him without touching her cuts, and he didn't know why he was even doing it in the first place. She eventually broke it off as they grew more heated and whispered that he should go back to his girlfriend before she suspected anything, and after kissing his lips once more, she broke her touch with him and they went downstairs again. They bode each other farewell and he left her, promising to visit her the next time he was in the area, and he returned to Jessie in the car, thankful that Jessibelle hadn't bothered with make-up after all, as it left him with one less thing to worry about. He got into the passenger seat and kissed his girlfriend on her cheek, mimicking the way he had left her, and took one last look at the estate as they drove away. Jessie didn't seem as if she was in a good mood with him, but he decided not to press it until they weren't driving in case an argument ensued as they were on the road.

      When they were parked in the garage at half past eight, James turned to Jessie and asked her what was wrong, her anger clearly visible even though she wasn't facing him. She pulled the key out of the ignition and threw it at him before undoing her seatbelt and preparing to get out, and she would have done if James hadn't firmly grabbed her wrist and told her to stay until she had explained what was wrong, dreading if the words that came out of her mouth were along the lines of 'I saw you with your tongue halfway down that wench's oesophagus'. She looked at him with hurt perceptible in her eyes as she said:

      "I looked up once and saw her taking her clothes off, and you demand to know what's wrong with me?"

      "If you'll have watched, you'd have seen that I didn't look at her, and when I did look at her, I couldn't see anything that should be covered up"  
      "Why did you have to look at her in the first place? She's a little tramp and that just proves it"

      "Actually it proves the exact opposite of what you just said"

      "She strips for you and you're telling me she's not a tramp? You're sticking up for her because you enjoyed it, didn't you?"

      "If you'll let me explain, I'll…"

      "Fucking hell, you did enjoy it"

      "Are you implying that I enjoyed telling one of the people whom I grew up with the extent of the damage inflicted on them after being gang-raped? That's what happened, and look at the envelope if you don't believe me"

      "She was…what?"

      "Some people raped her the other night to the extent of her never being able to bear children, and it was sent to me on the tape and with the photographs, and that's why I wanted to visit her today. If I let you see her it might have made her feel like a freak show, or she might have thought I was mocking her trauma if I showed up with someone I sleep with"

      "I…had…and she can't have children? The poor girl"

      "You weren't saying that ten minutes ago. Now do you understand why I asked to see her alone?"

      "Of course I understand, but I had no idea. How is she?"

      "Better than you would have imagined, but I can't believe that it had happened. They apparently ambushed her in Lazuli City"

      Lazuli City Hospital, 22:00 hrs…

      She shuddered to herself as she recalled the events that had occurred that day, and how she had pretended that she enjoyed it when her 'boyfriend' tried to cop a feel once he thought she believed his story. Still, it had been highly amusing to watch him squirm whenever she asked him questions about how she ended up in hospital, and to see him acting like they'd been in love for years was hilarious. He was actually probably pissed at having to stay with her for that amount of time without being able to blame her or making her do something for him, and she wondered how long he'd have to pay for meals to avoid having to cook them, and he had apparently slept in the courtesy room again that night, meaning that she'd have to suffer his presence as soon as visiting hours started. She had been able to eat without the drip that day and, if all went to plan, she would be out of the hospital within the next couple of days. Her wrist was still throbbing with pain, and she was dreading returning to her former lifestyle without being able to use her hand properly for a few months, regardless of having to sleep next to her 'boyfriend' and targeting the man she loved. She lay on her back and let her exhaustion overwhelm her as she let her eyes shut, wondering how she could make her partner feel discomfort even more.


	17. September 17th, 2000

                                                Sunday, September 17th 2000           

      James cried silently as he watched the footage that he had been sent from his bed, loathing every second of it as he watched strange men attack and rape Jessibelle for their own sadistic pleasures. Every so often was a flash of bright light in the corner of the screen, which could only originate from the camera that had taken the twisted pictures he had received with the tape. With great difficulty, he detected somebody crying other than Jessibelle over the rowdy shouts that the people who were involved with the deed were making. Another woman's voice was almost incomprehensible as the tears she had been shedding had contorted it, and her presence perplexed him; his ex-fiancée hadn't revealed anything about homosexual acts being performed on her. There was too much going on in the room to recognise her voice—he could only assume that it was the same woman whom he had seen in Viridian City—and a few key words were distinguishable in the argument, and it became obvious that the woman didn't want to be there. The image changed to one of a static shot of the ceiling due to a hard force from behind, and it acted as a source of relief for James; even if he could still hear the reprehensible event, he no longer saw it take place. A sound of a door slamming indicated that at least the woman had left, seeing that there was no sound of crying from another source other than Jessibelle. Someone must have eventually realised that the camera was in a different position as the camera was focused back on the scene roughly twenty minutes later, just in time to see another strange man draw a knife over Jessibelle's back with enough pressure to make it bleed. Although he had seen the cuts with his own eyes the day before, he felt incredibly nauseous as he saw the knife moving more swiftly along her skin whilst he held a syringe against the back of her neck, and the more she struggled, the more vicious the cuts became. The visualisations went static and the power eventually cut out on it as a result and he felt relief sweep over him; even if he hadn't seen any clues in the film, the blank screen indicated that nothing else was recorded. He still felt guilty from kissing Jessibelle, but what worried him was that he had pretty much done it without caring what Jessie would think if she found out. It was one thing to beat him up, but to gang rape an innocent virgin was far beyond James' levels of tolerance, and he'd exact his revenge once he found out who the people in question were.

      Jessie lay awake on the bed, perplexed at why she felt so jealous about James visiting an ex-girlfriend. Since he had been given the chance to marry the woman in question, she knew that he wouldn't cheat on her, but the thought leaving him alone with another woman still troubled her. Meowth twitched erratically beside her to live out something that was going on in his dream, too deeply asleep to provide any sort of company for her weary spirit. Her thoughts began to wander back to the phone call she had overheard James making the day that Weezing had been stolen, and she wanted to know who the person he had been talking to was, since it was obvious that she wasn't supposed to have heard any of the conversation from the way he had reacted at her presence afterwards. She decided that dwelling on memories wasn't a wise decision, especially at that hour of the morning, and she carefully slid out of the bed to prevent waking the tired feline before quietly making her way to James' room to see how he was feeling. The first thing she noticed was that his eyes was red-rimmed, indicating that he had been crying, and the second was the television flickering in the corner since it wasn't tuned into any particular station. His discomfort was apparent once he saw the nightdress she was wearing—it was the one he had molested her in—and he tried his hardest to avoid touching the material as she sat on his lap. She gently brushed the moisture that trailed from his eyes to his chin aside with her fingertips after kissing him with a warm greeting. She seductively nipped at his ears; teasingly guaranteeing that there was one way she knew that was to make him feel better. He utterly stunned her with his actions when he pushed her off his lap with a great deal of force, telling her to stop acting like such a little slut. She was obviously hurt by what he had brazenly said to her and she wanted to know what he meant by it, feeling even worse as he said, whilst he pulled on some clean clothes:

      "I've just watched someone I've known since I was eight being taken advantage of repeatedly, and then you decide to throw your body at me. That's what's the matter. You know I'm sensitive, and to think about having sex after watching her being raped disgusts me"

      "I resent that, you know I didn't mean anything by it. I just thought it might cheer you up a bit, but I think that will take a miracle"

      "Miracles don't exist Jessie, but sensitivity does. Maybe you should try it sometime"

      "I am sensitive, but I don't see why you expect me to have sympathy for a bitch who ruined your life"

      "Forget for just one minute that it's Jessibelle, and use the sensitivity that you claim to have to think about what happened to her"

      "I know what happened to her, you needn't think that you feel obliged to remind me, it's just that…"

      "Just what? You're jealous that people she didn't know stole her virginity and yours wasn't? Or possibly that she lost me to someone who looks slightly like her? Is it because she cherished her morals and wanted to wait until her honeymoon for sex, instead of as a method of soothing people?" 

      "Did I say any of that?"

      "No, but there's something that you're jealous of, I can tell. Could it be that she can never know the joys of motherhood, whereas you can give birth whenever you feel you've reached the right time of your life? She might have contracted HIV or AIDS from the ordeal, and if that's the case, you won't have to worry about her for very long, now will you?"

      She woke up in acute agony and screamed as she clutched her wrist, unable to use any self-restraint to keep her voice down. A young medic hurried into the room and asked her what was wrong and she was barely decipherable as she described the pain she was suffering from. She pleaded incessantly with the medic for more painkillers to numb the excruciating pain that she was in, and her spirit disintegrated when the youth denied her request, and he briskly explained that they couldn't do it for insurance reasons since they knew nothing of her medical history. The medic sharply told her to stop disturbing the other patients and to grow up, neither of which she considered particularly comforting, and would have voiced her angry opinion if she had the ability to summon sufficient strength to talk. She found herself loathing her partner even more by each passing moment, and she realised that she might be able to use her contempt to her advantage; forming a plan that she intended to perform once she stopped crying. That bastard would pay for stealing her virginity, in as painful and humiliating manner that she could determine…

      Jessie had fallen silent and despondently looked away from his glare, tears rapidly forming in her eyes as his last words continued to eat at her conscience. She couldn't think why James would defend her to the extent of having an argument with his girlfriend, even in lieu of what had happened. He felt guilt as he considered the way he had treated his best friend, but the way she belittled a victim of rape was unforgivable, regardless of whom the sufferer was. He wished that he could stop her from crying, but he knew that he couldn't talk to her in his present state for fear of upsetting her further, or saying something regrettable and not be able to take it back. He finished dressing and sat beside her with discomfort causing his stomach to constrict, hating the sight of tears welling inside her eyes until they overflowed and slid down her face as he knew that he had been the one to hurt her feelings. He touched her knee and inwardly flinched as he saw her pain become more visible, and he used his thumb to tenderly brush the impending salty liquid away from her sapphire eyes, whispering her name before apologising sincerely. His anger had noticeably shattered and she succumbed to his gentle touch, finding it pointless to be arguing with him in a house that she could easily become lost in and that would eventually be his. She traced his jaw-line with her forefinger before kissing him, gently touching the ruptured skin from where his face had been slammed against the wall in Team Rocket Headquarters, and their bodies began to act as if nothing had happened as their hormones overpowered their thoughts. Their kisses became more passionate and demanding as he lay on top of her, and although he was still fully clothed, he could tell that he was satisfying her needs from the whimpers she was making. Hopkins entered the room, catching them completely off their guard, and he explained that he had knocked and asked if he could cross the threshold, and he could distinctly remember hearing Jessie say 'Yes'. His face bore a poorly hidden smirk, and Jessie suddenly realised why and covered her feminine areas up properly, noticing that his eyes were continuously drifting from her face to the skin that she despised exposing to anyone other than James. He informed James that his mother wished to speak to him alone in his father's study with reference to family affairs as soon as possible, and James dismissed him as soon as the message had been delivered, his cheeks flushed from the position he had been caught in. James gave her one final passionate kiss before standing up and stretching to relieve himself from the stiffness that plagued him, saying that he'd visit her in her room as soon as he received the message. He ignored Hopkins as he passed him in the entrance vestibule, and briskly walked down the long wooden corridor to his father's study, wondering what the message was, and if they had found out about him sleeping with Jessie. He inhaled deeply and knocked before entering the room with a sense of nervousness eating at his insides, and he wasn't entirely sure why that was.

      His father sat in the large chair that was flanking the antique desk, and his mother stood behind him with her right hand resting on his shoulder, eloquently fanning herself whilst they exchanged greetings as acquaintances, not as parents and son. He could easily detect aversion and pique in his mother's eyes, and it made sweat form an unwelcome band along his palms that he couldn't explain. He wanted to ask her what was wrong, but the red rim surrounding her eyes suggested that she was close to shedding tears. Whilst drawing his gaze away from the unnatural coldness that his mother's face bore, James carefully asked his parents why he had been summoned to the study, and was quietly told that his aunt had been brutally attacked and theft of the family's most treasured heirlooms in her domicile had consequently occurred. James was aghast by this news; he had always been extremely close to her—in fact, he was quite often closer with her than with his intimate blood relations, and once the initial shock had disappeared, his thoughts began to race whilst he attempted to determine was whether the incident contained any links with Jessibelle's ordeal. He cleared his thoughts and concentrated closely on the details of the theft, finding it hard to keep his angry opinions to himself as he realised that he could recall seeing her number in the assailants' cell phone, and was informed that as their only living heir, they would feel much obliged should he stay and ensure that affairs in the mansion would continue to run smoothly in their absence, as opposed to leaving a man-servant in charge, as they were rarely completely reliable. He declared that he would comply with their wishes and quietly asked them how long the arrangement would be present, inwardly feeling a pang of discomfort at the mere thought of being the only member of his family running a house that was large enough to cater for the population of the Orange Islands. He noticed his mother use her fan with more dynamism as his father opened a drawer but he didn't comment on it, deciding that it must be due to the mentioning of the fate that befell her sister-in-law, and his eyes involuntarily widened when he saw his father produce a large, bulky envelope.

      "The contents within this envelope should be sufficient to meet this 'Giovanni' character's conditions, and if you acquire any further harassment from him in the future, please do not hesitate to ask for our assistance. Your mother found it somewhat distressing that you failed to inform us of the situation sooner, as it may have not permitted…well, it may have prevented certain individuals from becoming gravely injured in the progression"

      Tears filled James' eyes as he heard the witticism that his father had unwittingly made regarding the word 'grave', and concentrated on a groove in the highly polished wood on the top of the desk until the threat of crying was completely removed. His father inwardly frowned at himself at his choice of words upon seeing his only son's reaction at the statement, and inaudibly realized that it made him appear inconsiderate. He felt his wife apply a little more pressure to his shoulder and it abruptly brought his attention to a matter that he had entirely forgotten about, and when he continued to delay with his question, his wife became irate and spoke to her son in a harsh manner.

      "It would appear, James darling, that you have restrained from being completely honest with us. It has been brought to our attention that you have failed to act as circumspectly as a man of your opulence should"

      "I'm afraid that I am uncertain of what exactly is being directed towards me, would you terribly mind clarifying it for me?"

      "The zenith of our queries are, son, are you chaste?"

      Is that even in English? "Am I correct in saying that you wish to know the extent that my courtship with Jessica has reached?"

      "Possibly not with just Jessica, but where do your morals stand? Have you begun to sample the sweetness that the honey of life can produce?"

      I can't believe he's talking about sex like that. What'll they do to Jessie when I tell them the truth? "I am no longer chaste, as you so put it, and my morals are as follows:

I love Jessica and nothing will ever change that, and 

2. We both reached a stage in our relationship where we were both comfortable with the event, and it was completely consensual"

      "Thank you James darling, that information is sufficient. Had you said something sooner, we would have arranged for your girlfriend to share your living quarters. After all, there's nothing we want more than a grand-heir, my sincerest apologies, grand-child"

      "How did this information reach your attention in the first place, may I be so audacious as to ask?"

      "Reports have been delivered to our business that a young gentleman that looks uncannily like our prodigal son has taken liberties of removing his articles of clothing in public. We naturally denied all rumours at once, as it would prove most undignified for any member of this family to do so"

      "I wholeheartedly agree, and I am being entirely honest when I say that I would never readily perform such an action in public"

      "Thank you for clearing that matter up for us, son. You may take your leave now if you wish, and try to keep the house respectable-looking for when we return"

      He collected the envelope from the table and politely wished them a safe journey and asking them to send his regards to his aunt, and he hurriedly left the room before they could be given sufficient time to pose any further awkward questions. As soon as the door was securely locked, she threw her fan on the table and squeezed her husband's shoulder tightly, seething with inner rancour. He ran his hand along her back to try and calm her down to the extent of releasing his shoulder from her death-like grip, and once he saw that it bore no hope of being successful, he sighed and whispered:

      "I am still uncertain as to why we're making him suffer so"

      "Trust you to side with the whore's plaything. You are just as weak and pathetic as he is, that is if not even more. You couldn't even give me a son, you left me with only a shell of a human"

      "I am as displeased as you are about the choice he has made in the opposite sex, but it's out of our hands now"

      "No it's not, you saw how he's willing to lie to us about his actions, and it's that strumpet he lies with that has given him that attitude. She needs to be removed as soon as possible"

      "And what exactly will that achieve? Murder would besmirch our reputable name even more than what the events in the tavern did to our business at this morning's meeting"

      "Affiliates of aristocracy have always concealed what can destroy their reputations, and the elimination of a common tramp is nothing new. Who'd notice if a thief disappears? Nobody"

      "He would"

      "If he couldn't wait to fornicate some woman who has an IQ lower than dirt, then I can't wait to send her to an early grave. I tried to eradicate their camaraderie at an early stage, but he still remained affable towards her, even after I had his Eevee killed. He should have realised that if I did it once, I can do it again if he maintains his defiance, even if I had to have two pokémon killed in the process"

      "Precious, I still believe that slaughtering his Weezing in such a horrific manner was inhumane, even if it wasn't performed by your own hands this time"

      "And? I still have to deal with that imbecile, not only did he malign the only woman I consider appropriate to betroth our dearest son, but he's also driven his partner to a state of misery that only that wench deserves. He will not escape punishment for his actions"

      "I agree with that notion treasure, I felt humiliated this morning, and there's a slim to none chance that the youths would perform such actions in public without any sort of assistance. My blood curdles when I think that the events made it to the national press"

      Unhinged laughter began to echo around the room and she smiled superciliously as she said:

      "I believe I've discovered a way to clear our problems, and it will be entirely untraceable"

      "Precious? Darling? Will you please answer me and explain what you mean by that?"

      But his only answer was a heartless, unnatural bout of laughter.

      Jessie glanced up automatically when she heard a door slam a short distance away from her own [and with her curiosity getting the better of her] she opened her door and looked to see where the noise had come from. She checked that Meowth was still asleep before she walked down the surprisingly dark corridor to the only closed room in the area and then she quietly knocked on the mahogany panelled door. She opened it and the darkness that hindered her vision took her yet again by surprise. Had she known how to do it, she would have readily flicked a light switch on to allow her to see what was wrong with the room's sole occupant, as she could clearly hear crying. She ventured further into the room and felt someone hold her waist to bring her closer to them, and before she could protest, they were crying into her shoulder. She didn't know what to say, and she asked them what was wrong, and a choked sob revealed, barely detectable as he spoke into her shoulders rather than towards her face:

      "They wouldn't let me have anything, and they repossessed the stuff they gave me for Giovanni after letting me believe we were safe. I really don't know how to keep Giovanni away from us"

      She realised that it could only be James and asked him if he was alright whilst whispering his name a few times, receiving only racked sobs as a response. She ran her fingers through his familiar-length hair to comfort him as best she could, annoyed at not being able to see anything, and even more annoyed that he wouldn't tell her any details of the incident. She kissed his forehead to try and soothe him and asked him if they could put the light on, but she sighed to herself when she didn't hear a response, indicating that they would have to remain in the choking darkness until he did it for her. She was contemplating telling him to do it, claustrophobia kicking in, and when he slid his hands under her t-shirt and kissed her passionately, she found herself grateful for the darkness after all.

      James was entirely grateful that he had been granted permission to leave the room before his parents were given sufficient time to conceive any further comments regarding his relationship with Jessie, breathing a sigh of relief as he ascended the marble staircase. For the first time in his life, he genuinely felt as if nothing could go wrong; he was on speaking terms with his family, he had made his inner feelings known to Jessie and he was presently staying somewhere where neither Giovanni nor his attackers could reach him. He saw that Jessie was no longer in his room and unfortunately for his surging good mood and hormones, it also indicated that she was no longer skimpily dressed. He only saw Meowth looking groggy on the bed as he went into Jessie's room, and he said that he hadn't seen a trace of her since the night before and with this information, James began to wonder where she could be. He lay next to Meowth as he tore the top off the envelope to see what pokémon his parents had deemed as 'rare', and they were both stunned by its contents; neither of them were sincerely expecting to see two legendary pokémon amongst the already highly rare and extremely valuable collection. An immense weight seemed to have instantly disintegrated from James' shoulders once he saw that his life was out of immediate danger, and he decided that he'd find Jessie to tell her the news instead of waiting for her to show up. He encouraged Meowth to join him [he was protesting that once they found her, James would only start acting like he hadn't seen her in years and start kissing and feeling her up] and once he was eventually convinced, they went to the passageway and called her name to learn her location.

      Jessie pulled back from 'James' when she heard her friends calling her, and she pushed him away from her, demanding to know who he was as she fixed her upper clothing, but she only received a forceful push backwards and a mocking laugh in response. She was now experiencing sheer terror as she landed on the ground in utter darkness and screamed for James when she heard their voices approaching. She heard him pick up speed before he opened the door, and he flicked on the light immediately as he detested not being able to see anything. He saw Jessie looking petrified with her arms wrapped tightly around her knees as she sat against a wall, but apart from the antique furniture, the room was completely empty. He ran over to her and asked her what was wrong, but he could tell from the way her eyes were unremittingly scanning the area that she wasn't listening to a word he said, and she startled him from the way she jumped in shock as he gently touched her shoulder. She focused her eyes on his face and scurried back a little to distance herself from him, uncertain whether or not it was an illusion, or if it was really him, and she began to cry to herself when he began to ask her what was wrong, and guilt overwhelmed her when she realised that someone had imitated her boyfriend to the convincing extent of her allowing her body to be felt by a seemingly invisible stranger. The lack of an assaulter left her wondering what level her sanity was at, and due to the content of her problem, she was afraid to tell James about what she thought had happened to her in the dark.

      She soothingly ran her hand over her wrist to ease the sensation that felt like a thousand white-hot needles jabbing into her skin, and she was glad that the medic had disappeared. She had circumspectly rung all of her employers once her screaming had ceased, and she didn't regret doing it for one moment—if her partner did anything to hurt her before they got in touch with him, he'd be in far deeper trouble than what he could have ever known. If she continued to play her cards right, he wouldn't realise that she knew everything until it was too late and their employers had already shown up, and that was the only thought that was keeping her remotely sane. She was feeling light-headed from the amount of morphine she was under, and she contemptuously realised that he'd probably be envious of her supply of drugs, haunting memories reliving in her brain of her discovery before he had raped her. She knew that they would find actions like his inappropriate, and furthermore, most undignified. She wished that she had a friend she could talk to; she had never felt so unwanted and worthless in her entire life and she didn't even have one person who would visit her without trying to molest her body. In fact, the only thing that she felt like doing at that point was going for a drink with James, and the way she was feeling she wouldn't have refused even Jessie's company. Her spirits continued to descend into a dark chasm deep within her until she broke down completely, and once she had she cried to repent for all the grievances she had caused for her former love, and whilst choking on fresh sobs her throat was emitting, the old man in the bed beside her could distinctly hear her wailing James' name.

      He ran his hands through his hair again, suffering from fatigue as well as withdrawal symptoms from his narcotics; he hadn't taken any since he had shot up in front of his partner. He hadn't been in contact with du Paor since the whole scenario concerning his friend, and he was beginning to worry what would be said when their paths did cross again. As it was Sunday, the hospital's opening hours started a little later than usual and he had to wait until three o' clock until he was granted admission into his partner's room, leaving him with a forty-five minute wait. Although the start of his newfound friendship with his partner wasn't the greatest, he found that he bore feelings of love for her, and enjoyed every time he kissed her. He wished that they could have broken the ice between them a little easier, but he found himself praying that she never found out the real reason why she was in the hospital, and he was dreading informing her of their occupation. Still, he thought to himself, 'I needn't tell her exactly how much James means to her'. A sudden vibration in his pocket cut his fantasy of sleeping with her again short, and his eyes widened in terror and bewilderment once he saw that it was Giovanni ringing him—he earnestly had no idea what the nature of the phone call could be. The last thing he felt like was an argument with someone that only James had fought and lived to tell the tale, and he could honestly say that he didn't expect the topic of conversation.

      James was becoming more than a little annoyed with Jessie clinging to him one minute and jolting away from him the next as they sat together in a large recreation room in Growly's house. Although Meowth wasn't overly keen on their location, he could detect James' annoyance even though it wasn't physically visible, and he couldn't help but wonder what had made Jessie scream whilst she sat alone in the dark. She really wanted to kiss James, even with Meowth there, but whenever she made him think that she was going to do it, she remembered what she thought had happened to her in the room and shied away from him. She knew she was giving mixed signals, but there was nothing she could do about it until she gathered enough courage to tell him that she thought she'd kissed someone else, who was apparently invisible by the time they had found her. Shortly after four o' clock, James announced that he needed to go to a large firm in Neon city to carry out a transaction on his parents' behalf, and explained that he'd be back in a few hours, as soon as he was given the opportunity to leave. Jessie became visibly paler as she heard that he'd be leaving for a few hours, and she began to fear what might happen to her without the sense of security she had always felt merely from his presence. He suggested that she went for a walk around the grounds with Growly for something to do because that way, if she got lost he would help her get back to the mansion. He held her for a moment and when they finally shared a kiss, he felt her body tighten under his touch, which made him feel even more concerned about her. He bode them farewell as he left the room, and he couldn't help wonder what was wrong with Jessie as he chose a vehicle in the garage. As much as he detested lying to her, there was no way he could tell her what his true objective would be, and to make matters worse, he hadn't been told anything about the business at all.

      Once James had left, Meowth leapt on Jessie's lap [whilst avoiding Growly's slobber] and asked her to truthfully tell him what was wrong with her, and that if he told her anything in confidence, he wouldn't tell James anything. She felt nausea enter her system as she remembered the touch of someone who wasn't even in the room, but after swallowing the ill feeling, she stuttered out what she had thought she had felt, and hot tears flowed down her cheeks as she continued to explain what she thought had happened in the dark. Growly whimpered and trampled on him as he licked Jessie's face to try and comfort her, noticing that something was wrong with the woman his owner was friendly with. Meowth pondered the situation for a moment and then a thought suddenly occurred to him that he hadn't considered before. He said it to Jessie and swore that he wouldn't mention it to James after Jessie became frantic at the concept, but there was still a flaw in his theory.

      She glared at the medic as he carelessly placed the tray with her dinner before her, and she grew extremely self-conscious whilst positioning herself in the bed, and she attempted to eat what she could barely deem as food. The fact that her partner was also there made her feel angry and ashamed simultaneously; although it was technically her fault she was there, she persisted in blaming him entirely. The shame was instigated from her thinking she looked retarded as she tried to keep the tray steady with her damaged hand. If she kept it in a certain position, she was able to relive the slash that she had made with the blade, and she was in so much pain that she was receiving no pleasure out of her partner's squirms every time she cried out or sobbed. Had she not considered her position quite so weak, she would have given him a piece of her mind for every time he ran his fingers over her lower back, whilst she allowed her body to vent some of the inner anguish she was experiencing through screaming. He had finally decided to tell her what their jobs were, and now that he had gathered enough courage, he couldn't bring himself to tell her in her present condition. He was finding her more attractive with every moment he spent with her, and he couldn't work out why he hadn't noticed her in the same light before he had stolen her virginity. He wondered whether or not his feelings had originated in pity or guilt, but he was thinking of her in a far from platonic manner and prayed that the truth stayed as far away from her ears as possible. What he didn't know, however, was that she had already arranged his downfall…

      Jessie decided that some fresh air might do her already wound-up system some good after all, and invited Meowth to come with her as she took Growly for a walk. He agreed with a high level of reluctance, and that was only to ensure that Jessie wouldn't panic if she heard something whilst alone. He was inwardly worried about her, as what she had described had sounded not only perplexing, but terrifying even more so. He noticed her diffident actions as they walked through the woods behind Growly's house {where they kept the hot-air balloon}, and he noted the way she scratched at her palms a lot, as if trying to remove the feeling of whatever she thought had happened to her. It was only when they got to a large spring that she seemed to zoom back into normality, and she saw the funny side of it when Growly jumped on top of her and covered her t-shirt with two muddy paw-prints. The force of his paws caused her to fall backwards into the muddy grass. She laughed for the first time since James had found her frightened in the room, and she luckily saw the humour in the situation, whilst she joked that the thick mud had ruined her perfection. He licked her face and wagged his tail vigorously as he saw a definite change in the atmosphere. Although Meowth distanced himself from the wet dog-type pokémon, two of his dislikes in one, he was glad to see that the tension-filled ice between them had been broken. She pushed him off her and sat forward with a pain in her side rapidly forming out of laughter, and once she had calmed herself down again she pulled off her mud-covered outfit to rinse it in the refreshingly warm spring, feeling that the matter in the room had only been psychosomatic. She ignored the remarks that Meowth made about her spontaneous decision to change it into a quick swim, and felt annoyed that her bruises hadn't disappeared yet, but even so nothing could kill the good mood she was having. Without her knowledge, a young male peered out from behind a tree in a particularly dense section, and slid his hand into his trousers at the sight of the woman he had nearly taken advantage of that morning, who was swimming in his line of vision, completely naked. If all went according to his plan, he'd 'have' her within the approaching week…

      James arrived back at the house at a little before nine o' clock, and surreptitiously entered his room through a secret passage. He walked over to the chest of drawers beside his bed and opened the top drawer before carefully folding something and placing it in the top drawer. He wrote something out and after allowing the ink sufficient time to dry; he left it in the same drawer and locked it, leaving the key to it in the bottom of the chest. He quickly wrote something else out and left the writing implements with the key; he couldn't allow Jessie to even see anything to do with what he had been doing all day…

      He left his room to seek out the butler with second-most authority in the house, considering that Hopkins had gone on the business trip with his parents, in relation to the duties that they would be relieved of in their absence. As soon as he had arranged everything, he decided that it was time to visit his girlfriend, and it thankfully didn't take him very long to find them, as he had suspected they'd still be with Growly. Jessie looked noticeably happier than how he had left her, and her familiar passion had returned when he kissed her as a form of welcoming. He tossed something in Meowth's direction and without Jessie noticing him, he motioned that he wasn't to let her see it, as it revealed exactly what he had been doing all day. Growly protested at the duration of his owner's lip-lock and whined softly whilst he head butted the humans in the hips to separate them. They understood the hint and Jessie sat on James' lap whilst they told him what they had done around the grounds all day, including Jessie's afternoon swim, and upon receiving this information, James rubbed Growly's head affectionately and said:

      "Good boy! Now, if you can only get her to do that when I'm around…"

      His sentence earned him a playful elbow in the ribs and a pout, and Meowth quietly read the note whilst they were distracted with each other, unsure what to do regarding the contents of it. James went into the kitchen to make them all a meal instead of relying on other people to do it for them, and he got a buzz from Jessie standing behind him and kissing his neck as he turned the oven on, and he reluctantly told her to return to the other room, knowing that he wouldn't be able to concentrate if she kept him company. Meowth jumped up onto the large windowsill that overlooked the mansion, and casually asked him whereabouts the secret passages were, certain that it was through one of the passages that Jessie's marauder had made his escape. James explained that there were passages leading from every family member's bedroom to various places where a person could easily make a safe departure, and the only other one was in his father's study, which led to a large room in the centre of the building that was otherwise inaccessible. He ruefully said that he had only been there once as a child so he couldn't remember what was in it, but he clearly remembered that it showed all the private exits, as well as the normal ones. Meowth thanked him and said he'd keep Jessie some company for a while longer, in case she felt like they were ignoring her, and he told her exactly what James had just said. She noticeably quietened as she realised that the room she had been in wouldn't have an escape route since it wasn't a bedroom, but she tried not to make it obvious when her boyfriend came into the room with their meals.

      Lazuli Hospital, 22:00hours…

      Just when she thought her life couldn't get worse, a choking darkness engulfed the entire ward, and a tight grip wrapped itself around her injured wrist before she was able to properly realise what was happening. She cried out in pain and the stranger applied more force until she was unable to make a noise due to the unendurable ache she suffered from. She felt another hand pull the covers down to her feet, and she felt another person position themselves on top of her through the morphine, and she heard a rasping voice hiss at her in the darkness:

      "I'm Butch, and Giovanni feels as though you haven't been providing whatever you agreed to in the contract. Just be thankful that it's not the total extent of his wrath you have to suffer tonight, because believe me, he wouldn't bother with killing the lights. It'd be something else he'd kill"

      Morphine failed to relieve her of any of the pain she was experiencing, and memories of her partner carrying out the same actions flooded her head, as she felt a stranger take total advantage of her, and she wasn't sure if she imagined it, but she could have sworn she heard the old man in the bed next to her laugh at her sobs. She couldn't understand why nobody was coming to her assistance, and she was petrified at the thought of Giovanni finding her in person; she had thought by telling him what her partner had done, he would hold some sympathy or something for her, and he sent someone else to rape her instead. She couldn't see who her attacker was, and there was a total contrast when he reached the height of his pleasures, and he squeezed her wrist until she nearly passed out in pain, and she was hoping that it would be the end of her torment. She felt the disgusting feel of his lips against hers as he continued to molest her body, and heard him threaten her with Giovanni's promise before leaving her with her aching body and shattered spirit.

      Neon City, 00:00hours…

      James led Jessie into the back garden of one of the most expensive restaurants in the city, and he held her chair out for her as she sat down. She hadn't been expecting a midnight meal, and she thought they looked out of place in the clothes they had worn all day, but James didn't seem to mind. Once they had ordered what they wanted to eat and sent the waiter away, James kissed her neck as they looked at the star-filled sky, and Jessie asked him why he was doing it before she forgot where they were. He pulled back and linked his fingers with hers and whilst kissing her knuckles lightly, he replied that it was only the beginning of the things he intended to do for her birthday, which caught her by surprise. She hadn't thought that he'd remember it, or if he had that he wouldn't acknowledge it in lieu of recent events, and loosened up completely when she heard him joke that he actually intended to pay for it this time. She gazed at the constellations one final time before leaning forward to rendezvous her lips with his, savouring the taste of their kiss as violins from the main building played throughout the night.


	18. September 18th, 2000

                                                Monday, September 18th 2000           

      Jessie woke up beside James in his bed, and was surprised to see that he was still asleep for once, and she decided to allow him to sleep for a while longer. Out of curiosity more than anything else, she sat up slightly to see if she was able to see where the passage could be in his room, and she eventually reached the conclusion that it wasn't worth the headache that her scan was inducing. She saw Meowth curled up in a comfortable armchair in the corner of the room, and she also noticed his body twitching every other second, which indicated to her that he was in a deep sleep. She was gradually restless and out of her boredom, she decided to wake James up for some company, and did so by kissing him. He didn't seem too annoyed that she had done it and after wishing her a happy birthday, he rubbed his eyes and slid her unto his lap whilst his lacerations were still numb. He asked her what she had thought of her midnight meal, and he could detect a noticeable eagerness in her movements after she had answered him. Neither of them had the self-control to stop their bodies from continuing with a repeat session of what they had done after returning from the hotel, nor did they notice that Meowth had stopped twitching, and that his ears had pulled back at the noise they were making. He tried to block out the sounds as best as possible, but he still winced at the pitch of some of the notes that Jessie was emitting, and hoped that they wouldn't be all over each other all day. Of course, he realised his wishes were futile…

      The first thing her partner noticed when he visited her with another bouquet of flowers was the large bruise on her neck that the person supposedly called Butch had delivered the night before, and she hated having a male anywhere near her, especially combined with the searing pain that was burning through her wrist after the way it had been squeezed. She hated to admit it, but she no longer held the upper hand as she thought she had, and she didn't know whether or not her partner was aware of that. Partner. The mere thought of that word made her want to vomit out of sheer disgust. He noticed the fear in her eyes as he kissed her as a welcome, and he detected more red on her wrist than what had been there the day before, making him become more concerned for her welfare than annoyed. He asked her if she was fit to leave any time soon, as he knew she was miserable there, and she started crying as she declared that she wanted to be discharged more than anything, as she was in more pain than when she had been admitted. He hugged her lightly as she allowed her tears to fall freely, and he felt her body jerk away from him as his torso touched lightly against hers, causing the burn to return to her breasts from when she had been molested, and she hated the weakness she was showing to anyone who looked at her. Then, to make matters worse, two people whom she had thought would help her entered the room and she didn't think that they would. In fact, she was certain they'd do the opposite…

      Jessie continued to kiss James after his wake-up call, and asked him whether or not he had anything to give her for her birthday. He acted puzzled and asked didn't she think the meal and sex was enough for her, and playfully kissed her before stretching to his right and opening the drawer with the key to the chest in it. He unlocked the correct one {which was quite a feat considering he had Jessie hindering his ability to move} and handed her the card that he had signed, as well as a wrapped box addressed to her. She thanked her friends for the card after reading it, and Meowth called over that he had refused to write anything as X-rated as what James had, and he had actually only managed an inky paw print as he couldn't hold a pen between his claws. She opened her present and saw that James had given her a photograph album filled with pictures that traced their life as friends, including a couple of pictures of them as a couple. It was only when she went through it the second time that she noticed a memento alongside each picture, like a couple of links of a bicycle chain from a picture of them after a raid in the gang, and their letters of acceptance into Team Rocket. Although he disliked the display of affection the two naked humans were showing towards each other, there was no denying that James' idea had been nothing short of thoughtful. She squeezed him again out of her appreciation, and he teasingly kissed her neck before whispering in her ear that he had more in store for her later on. They would have savoured the moment more, except for Meowth calling out for them to get dressed and to feed them, and they reluctantly agreed to his wishes. Jessie couldn't help but wonder what he meant by having more for her, and he wouldn't tell her no matter how often she asked him.

      The fact that she had complained about what her partner had done to her, and her employers entered the room with her arms around him, and the fact that she still had the hickey visible on her neck made matters worse. A glance from her partner's eyes made her realise that her game of amnesia was up, and she realised that she would now have to face the wrath of her employers for her deception. She swallowed as her female employer glared icily at her out of the corner of her vicious eyes, and she clutched the duvet around her as she frantically wondered what would happen to her next. Her male employer seemed genuinely concerned about her, and she could easily see where James had inherited his gentle streak. She felt alone as her partner stood by them, and she could scarcely remember hearing raised voices before she passed out from the shock the events of the last 72hours was inflicting to her system. 

      She realised she was roughly being driven somewhere when she came to in the back of a truck, and she didn't acknowledge automatically that someone had dressed her in different clothes than what she had fallen asleep in. Her head throbbed out of pain, and she suddenly noticed a layer of clear airtight film had replaced her bandage. Elite scientists generally used the film to see whether or not any remnants of the chemicals remained in the wound, and if so they were able to determine the cure by seeing the evolution of the contamination. She got the feeling that the film had been used on her wrist to allow her to see the extent of her actions rather than as a precaution for infection, and she couldn't draw her eyes away from a horrendous wound, barely closed with seven ugly blue stitches binding the two sides together. She became nauseous as she continued to examine it, and she couldn't stop herself from pulling her rough jumper away from her chin so she could see the bruises both of her rapists had left on her body. She began to hyperventilate out of panic and she began to wonder what would happen when she woke up from this surreal nightmare. She might wake up married to James in his bed, or she might wake up the moment before they had accepted this horrendous occupation. Right now, she was afraid to go asleep for fear of waking up in a dump, with mortal wounds on her body that would surely bring about her death.

      Jessie immediately noticed that there wasn't a single servant visible in any of the rooms, and James whispered into her ear that he wanted to ensure that they were alone for her 'celebrations'. He led her into a large dining room that usually held banquets and other formal events, and told her to remain seated whilst he made her some breakfast, and she voiced her surprise to Meowth, who could honestly agree that he didn't know what James was planning for the rest of the day. He returned from the kitchen twenty minutes later with the breakfast he had carefully made for Jessie, and her eyes widened in astonishment at the sight of it. She said that he was trying to fatten her up when he gave her a large portion of it, and with a cheeky grin and a wink, he said she'd burn it off later that night. It earned him a smack to his side, but he noticed the look in her eyes that clearly said 'that had better be a promise' to him. Meowth looked into his food and tried to ignore the flying hormones to his right, and he began to wonder what he did to deserve such torture first thing in the morning.

      Team Rocket Headquarters, 11:35…

      Giovanni flicked through his ream of members' application forms {from both those of the past and those who were working there now}, and he stopped when he reached two memorable application forms. One was James', and he recalled thinking that the boy would have more potential than he presently showed in his job, and the other was the girl who had recently returned to his organisation. Although she was attempting to show that she didn't fear him, he knew that after the message he had sent her the night before she wouldn't try to get him to avenge her partner's actions again, and if all went to plan, he'd have her as a full-time employee once more. She had been one of his strongest agents, but she had sabotaged her job by being gracelessly discharged for standing up to Giovanni upon overhearing his plans to eliminate James at an earlier date, and he had realised that he would have far greater powers of manipulation if he waited a while longer, and the delay he had mentally arranged would lapse over the next couple of days. He now saw the teenage boy as a threat, and it had become obvious to him that to kill him immediately wouldn't bear any satisfaction for him; if he wanted to enjoy James' death, he would need to manipulate Jessie first, and he knew how simple that would be after the way she had thrown herself at him in his office. Once James showed up at the formal event without the 'conditions' they had agreed on, it would initiate his plan of action and James would decide that life wouldn't be worth living once he'd seen what his girlfriend was really like. Not that actually he had a choice in maintaining a pulse…

      The back of the truck was opened at three o' clock, and at this point she could hardly move out of fear and hunger. She hadn't realised that there was a division in the back of the truck and when the man who had driven her to the estate {Hopkins} had ordered her to get out, she noticed her partner fall out of the other section due to his legs being numb. The look he gave her was one of mixed emotions, as it revealed that he cared about her, whilst he was angry for her informing their employers of his actions. He noticed the fear that her very essence bore, and helped her out of the truck without touching her wrist, wondering what their outcome would be. They were in the centre of an open field and the nearest shelter was roughly a mile away in each direction, which made them feel even more vulnerable. To make matters worse, she saw a cold glint of a gun in the female employer's hand, making her realise that she was in dire need of relieving herself. She didn't know if it made her feel better or more miserable, but she felt her partner take her uninjured hand and squeeze it gently to offer his support. She wanted to push him as far away from her as possible, but yet again she found comfort in knowing that someone was in the same predicament that she was. The female employer looked as though she was about to say something when a murkrow flew overhead and cawed to its young in the distance, and disgusted by the interruption it had caused, it took her mere seconds to have aimed at the creature and mortally wounded it. There was a fresh, foreboding feeling in the air once the employees had realised that she had used a silencer on the gun as she fired it; the only feasible reason that they could think of was so that she could asphyxiate the sound of the bullet breaking the sound barrier, and to prevent attracting unwanted attention.

      Whilst his parents were plotting something sinister, James was trying to think of a way of getting Jessie alone for twenty minutes without insulting Meowth, and he couldn't think of a method of action no matter how hard he dwelt on the situation. He reluctantly decided that he'd have to wait until that evening, but he could have done with it for a confidence booster; after all, it wasn't every day that he intended asking his best friend an awkward question that would determine their future as a couple. As he tidied up the dirty crockery after they had finished eating, he smiled to himself as he heard Jessie asking Meowth if he knew what James was planning, and began to mentally make preparations for that evening, and where he would take her throughout the day to ensure that she found the whole day enjoyable. He just had to make certain that he didn't get her as drunk as they had been on his birthday, and he also had to guarantee that their stalkers wouldn't record any of their conversations to present them to Giovanni a few months later. Jessie caught him off his guard when she ran her hands along his thighs and he heard her whisper how much she wanted to be alone with him, whilst she slightly rubbed her body against him to make her intentions known. He turned around and held her as he delivered a birthday kiss, and she enjoyed the pleasant contrast between his wet hands and her warm skin. Just when he was getting caught up in the moment, she pulled back and sensually asked him what else he had planned for her, in reference to the comment he had made after he had given her the present, and he grinned as he told her that she would have to wait to find out. She ran her fingers along the inside of the top of his jeans and breathed the same question back, and with great difficulty he repeated his answer. She jokingly cursed and told him that he wouldn't get to kiss her until she found out, and he found this hard to believe as she was just as hormonal as he was—if not even more so—and she would be the more likely of the two to cave in on the promise.

      Tension mounted in the air as the corpse of the murkrow landed a few feet away from where they all stood, and she felt her partners grip become tighter as the female employer continued as though the shooting hadn't even taken place. She reloaded the gun as she began to speak, as if she felt like loading a pistol in front of other people was an everyday activity, and he could feel his partner shaking as he continued to hold her hand.

      "Am I to understand correctly, that neither of you have been treating your duties as serious as of late?"

      "What are you implying? I murdered the beast for you. If that isn't serious, well then I honestly…"

      "Silence. I am aware that you carried out that duty, but I haven't seen either of you around the house or grounds lately, and your targets have resided with us for half a week at this point. They have been here since Thursday, and had it been anywhere else that they stayed, you would have followed them relentlessly. Am I to understand that we are disbursing for a service that isn't being performed? That we employ you for a job that we have carried out ourselves? You should know by now to restrain from betraying our trust, since I'm assured that you know what we're capable of"

      "In all fairness darling, one of them was hospitalised for that time"

      "Which leads me onto my next point, you have double-crossed me far greater than you can ever know, and just because she is out of commission does not give you the right to abstain from your duties. What have you to say in your defence, and believe me, you'd better phrase it carefully this time, if you want to have the ability to say something else"

      And to punctuate her sentence, she speedily positioned the pistol so that her hand's aim was perfectly pointing at the male assailant's heart; her motion had been so sudden and unexpected that nobody had seen her pull the hammer back in the process, and the _click_ was all that they had to use as evidence of her actions. She felt him shaking in fear as he stared an implement of death in the face, and his hand became lined with uncomfortable perspiration as his grip tightened. Despite the moral principles that she firmly believed in, she was concerned for her rapist's safety since they had spent many years together as friends. She unknowingly held her breath as the moment continued, and didn't know whether it was a wise move or not when her partner delivered his answer.

      "You hired both of us, and as a result we work together, if you have a problem with one of us we deal with it together and if something happens to her, I want to make sure she's fine before I reassume any line of work. You haven't paid us since we claimed our method of transport, and that means that we haven't wasted any of your money"

      "Is that why you raped her, if she means so much to you?"

      "WHAT?!"

      "We know about the whole matter, and if you claim that she means so much to you, then why did you defile her? Did you really expect for us to pay her medical bill without enquiring why it was required?"

      "It was out of love, not out of lust. Ask her if you don't believe me"

      She glanced at his partner without changing position of her hand, and saw the young girl snicker at his comment, giving her the answer she required. Once he knew that his number was up, he admitted to it and apologized to his partner since he wasn't certain if he'd have the chance to do so in a few minutes, but he did notice that she hadn't released her grip on his hand after the revelation had been made. Whereas he had only thought it before, he was now certain that the whole time he had lied to her in the hospital, she was aware of the truth all along. Out of his panic, he began to cry bitterly and his ability to talk was taken from him, without being shot. Much to his dismay, she began to talk again.

      "I'm also aware that you defiled a woman who is very dear to my heart, and you have done nothing to the tramp you were assigned. You were given strict instructions regarding her life after the instructions for that toxic ball, and I haven't seen any of them carried out on her. Why is she still alive? And why is James the one with his life on his line?"

      "With all due respect Madame, we have plans to initiate the sequences of events tomorrow evening, and when we're finished with them they'll hate each other. Nobody in their right mind would go near Jessie once we're finished with her, and hopefully she'll succeed at what I failed—suicide"

      "Excellent. It was rather irksome to give James money and pokémon worth almost $1m in value from an untidy mistake that shouldn't have occurred in the first place"

      "I can personally guarantee that it shall not happen again. We have conducted enough research for us to be certain of a way to eliminate Jessie from contaminating your grandchildren, and we also know how to make James suffer for his inconsiderate choice of women"

      "Proceed"

      "It is certain that Giovanni shows a particular amount of interest towards Jessie, and we have formulated a plan to destroy both as threats, and James will realise his mistakes, no matter the cost"

      "I assume that you are able to do this alone?"

      "Of course I could…wait, are you implying that I can work without my partner?"

      "What makes you under the impression that I'd be more lenient with a stranger than with the fruit of my loins?"

      "Please don't shoot him, I…I require his assistance"

      "I don't think even you believe that; you particularly requested to be separated from him if I recall correctly"

      "Separated, yes, but I don't want to see him dead"

      "Well then don't look"

      A single shot rang out, and the entire area became eerily silent; not even a pokémon made a sound.

      James had decided to let Jessie have the second part of her birthday present once he had been given the satisfaction of being right regarding who'd be first to cave in on the threat, and he took her back up to his room, with Meowth hitching a ride on his shoulders. He handed his girlfriend a rather large wrapped rectangular shaped present, and he had her mystified as to what exactly it might be. He slid his arms around her waist and kissed the back of her neck as she unwrapped it, and he heard her gasp when she realised what it was. It was a deep blue dress that matched her eye colour perfectly with it came a matching sash, and instead of saying anything to him regarding her appreciation, she tilted his head back and kissed him passionately. Meowth was forced off of his shoulders from the surprise attack, and coughed loudly as the teenagers were acting as if they were alone again. She grudgingly sat away from James, and after a mock-glare at Meowth, she stood up to try it on, which acted as a form of gratitude in James' eyes since it gave him a taste of what he'd hopefully see a lot of later that night. Without Meowth's company, that is. The dress fitted her perfectly and suited her figure; the thin straps complimented her waist, and the material looked like liquid when she moved in it. The only problem was that the underwear she was wearing was sorely visible, and James grinned as he said that he'd need to take her shopping for lingerie, not finding it as much of a burden as he'd usually make it sound. She met the hungry look in his eyes and said that she'd pay for it as he wouldn't have that much money, but he shrugged and replied that he still had some change from the money his parents had given him, and he insisted that he wanted to spoil her for the first time they'd been together. Meowth sighed to himself as he saw the invisible sparks flying between them, knowing that it would be for his own benefit if he slept elsewhere that night, since he knew that he wouldn't get any sleep if he stayed anywhere near his friends.

      Since their hands had been linked tightly, she felt a tremendous weight from her partner that caused her whole body to be forced downwards after the pistol had been fired, and she was too stunned to do or say anything about it. She replaced the hammer without bothering to dissipate the smoke that had appeared after the gunshot, questioningly glaring at the terrified female assailant as if she were daring her to make a remark about her actions. Her partner knelt in the grass in sheer terror; he had felt the sharp buzz in his earlobe as the bullet had zipped past his ear, and he knew that she had deliberately missed him—her aim was more accurate than any assassin he had ever met, and he was certain that it was far deadlier. He had broken out in a cold sweat, and the mere threat of his death had been enough for him to lose all control over his bladder, and he felt like the world had suddenly gone against him bar one person; his partner had insisted that he remained alive, which made him wonder what her feelings for him were. As uncomfortable as he felt in his own moisture, he wisely refrained from speaking in case it was the last thing he'd say, and he found comfort in his friend stroking the back of his palm with her thumb. As she returned the gun to its holster, she coldly said:

      "Make no mistake about my aim; if you fail with tomorrow's assignment, no amount of pleading will save your pathetic life"

      After another painstakingly long journey in the back of the truck, the older man ordered them to get out in Turquoise City—the town that would bear the event in question during the following evening. Once they had been granted their leave by their vindictive employers, he took both his partner's and his own belongings to show some consideration for her sore wrist, and she sprinted down the street to a public toilet, not wishing to befall the same fate that her partner had. She cried to herself as she realised that the predicament she was in was far worse than it had been initially, and she couldn't understand why she had wanted to save her rapist's life. Her _first_ rapist, she bitterly corrected herself. Fortunately for her, there was a small mirror on the wall and she cleaned up her appearance as best she could. She decided that although she felt pathetic, there was no need for her to look it. She acquired pleasure from the thought of her partner standing on the pavement in the city with soaking trousers, and decided to take longer than she normally would have done just to publicly ridicule him. He didn't say anything to her when she returned to him, and they set of in search of somewhere to spend the night in silence whilst they both privately dwelt on recent events. She wasn't sure if it was her imagination or not, but she was almost certain that he kept glancing in her direction whenever she walked beside someone else in case they hit her wrist, but she might have just been her imagination inventing emotions for him out of her own self-pity. They found a large hotel where they could access their venue easily the next night, and her informing him that they'd be sleeping in detached rooms stunned him; he had been aware that she would distance him since they each knew what had had happened between them, but he honestly hadn't expected her to sleep in an entirely different room. He paid for both of them using his false identification, and he assisted his friend to her room before going near his own. When he put her luggage down in her room, he used tact and refrained from touching her, although it was what he desired more than anything at that time, and asked her if she'd talk to him. She wanted to scream for him to leave her alone, but something held her back; she couldn't figure out what it was, and settled for an icy demand for him to leave, and much to her surprise, he obliged without any protests, and she actually felt half-guilty for making him feel so dejected, even though logic told her that she was correct in her actions.

      Neon City, 17:35hours…

      James counted the money he had left in his wallet as Jessie tried on another outfit, and he was happy to see that he still had enough to treat her to some new clothes without running into financial difficulty. He had put the amount that was due for Giovanni in the same envelope yesterday after he had bought the dress for Jessie, and by referring to the times he had been shopping with Jessie when they used to receive large paycheques, the change he actually had left surprised him. Most of the shops wouldn't allow Meowth in due to their policies of no pokémon {they assumed it was in case his fur stuck to the store's goods}, and they both dreaded what the scratch cat would do when they would eventually release him from his pokéball. He heard Jessie say his name and he went over to the changing room to see what she wanted, and he saw her in the most provocative lingerie she had tried on all day, and his face was enough for her to know it was worth buying, and he whispered that it was the one item that she was buying that he would treat as a form of her appreciation. With a cheeky grin, she checked that he was the only one that could see her before rearranging the material for his benefit, and he delivered a fervour-filled kiss before he heard a store clerk approaching to ask him to wait outside the female changing rooms. He apologised and winked at Jessie before he obliged the woman, and they both wished that she had left them alone, until they had observed what affect the lingerie would have on his already excited hormones. They paid for everything when the store began to close at six, and they had both inwardly decided not to bother releasing Meowth for quite another few minutes, as it would give them a chance to have a private moment together. James carried her bags to the sports car without complaining, and after they had placed the goods inside, he pushed Jessie against the side of the car and heatedly kissed her, neither of them particular worried that they were in a parking lot that was in clear view of the street. She moved him back and he sat in the passenger's seat and she straddled his legs, with neither of them hindering their desires with caution; an action that they soon learned to regret. As their session became more hormonal than either of them had intended, Jessie felt James more than a little eager to act lustfully in the car whilst she reached for his wallet out of a different reason than when they had been in the store. They were interrupted before they could act on their bodies' demands, and they heard a familiar voice calling out:

      "That's them Officer Jenny, they're the ones who stole the pokémon from the centre!"

      A glance behind Jessie's shoulders indicated to James that the twerps were in the distance and heading towards the car, and he presaged Jessie to fix her clothing before she exposed anything that should be kept hidden; he knew how dodgy it looked when her skirt wasn't in the position it should be in, her t-shirt was twisted around and his shirt had been completely unbuttoned. Jessie prepared to stand up to make the situation appear less dodgy but James caught her by her wrist and indicated with a nod of his head why she should stay sitting on his lap, and he could feel his cheeks igniting as she started laughing at his problem. His eyes begged her to stay and she compromised him as he frantically buttoned his shirt; she got out of the car and fixed her skirt before re-sitting on him with her legs out of the car, to ensure that his 'problem' remained hidden from the others. They heard Officer Jenny demanding for them to freeze for the infinite time in their lives, and James casually asked what was the matter. As they tried their hardest to ignore the looks that Brock gave them when he realised the position they had been caught in. Ash pointed at them and yet again accused them of thievery, declaring that they must have hidden the pokéballs in the bags that were beside them. James coolly replied that they had been shopping all day and they had the receipts to prove it, but Ash knew better than to quit until someone had firmly announced that he was correct and Team 'Useless' were wrong. Upon being asked to provide their pokéballs for police record, Jessie and James produced the four pokéballs they had with them, and Misty understood that they were innocent, and said that they only had their four regular pokémon, and James' eyes filled with tears when she assumed that one was Weezing, when it was in fact containing Meowth. She frowned at James' reaction as she thought that she had been helping, and Jessie quietly muttered that they had Meowth in a pokéball instead of Weezing, and released them all to act as her proof. She cradled James' head in her arms and kissed the side of his face as she quietly asked him if he was okay, and she didn't feel the slightest bit self-conscious that she was acting like that in front of other people—her boyfriend's mood was more important to her. He tried to shake away the feeling to save his supposed reputation, and he was surprised that he had enough self-control to stay silent as Ash called him a stupid wussy girl repeatedly, and he could feel Jessie's body becoming tighter as the taunting became more vicious. Officer Jenny heard a remark about them stealing the car as they could never afford it, and she asked to see the registration and driver's licence for the car. James was feeling like switching seats and driving into his opposition in his present mood, and he handed over the papers that denoted ownership whilst explaining that his father would be the driver, as he himself did not yet have a licence. Her eyes widened when she saw the name on the form, and covered up her surprise by informing him that it would be illegal for all of them to travel at once, and Jessie chipped in by saying that she was staying in the town, not with James as the car was only insured to transport two people. She asked for them to leave the car whilst she carried out an official search for the missing pokémon, and Misty noticed how close to tears James actually was.

      Whilst he held Jessie beside him, she wondered what could have happened to make him so upset, and how he could have received his bruised eye. Meowth could sense discomfort surrounding his friend and rubbed against his legs, feeling that something was wrong even though he hadn't heard anything that might have upset him. He quietly asked him what was wrong and automatically wished he hadn't when he heard a dejected sigh as James explained the scenario with the pokéballs. Jessie ran her fingers along the side of her partner's face before kissing him gently, and they tried to claim the moment that had been interrupted by people they disliked immensely. They heard sniggers coming from the twerps, and the moment was lost completely when they heard Officer Jenny placing them under arrest for withholding evidence from the scenes of some crimes from the police, and James became horrified as she showed them what she meant. Ash grinned moronically to himself as he thought that he'd discovered the identities of the thieves, and he barely noticed Brock dropping his guide book out of shock {thankfully Misty didn't mimic his actions as she carried Togepi}, but he heard her whisper 'Oh my god' to herself. He looked beyond his disillusionment and noticed that James was now crying, and that Jessie was running her fingers through his hair as he wept into her shoulder. James was brought back into reality when he felt one side of a pair of handcuffs being locked on his wrist, and he pulled his arms away from her before she could close the other side, and he bent his thumb inwards as he slid the offensive object off, nearly hysterical as he threw them back at her feet.

      "Do you think I'm like this out of guilt? How stupid can you be?"

      "I'm warning you sir, you have the right to remain…"

      "BULLSHIT! How DARE you try to arrest me when the pokémon in those pictures belongs--belonged to me?"

      "Anything you say can and will be used in court as evidence, and if you continue in this manner sir, you'll risk losing those rights"

      "I don't care. That is--was MY pokémon, my ex-girlfriend, and they were sent to me for added torture, and you dare to try and arrest me? Do you think I'd kill anybody, be it pokémon or person? Do you think I could do THAT to a woman I grew up with? Especially when it is clear who the perpetrators are in the pictures?"

      "Sir, your hostile manner is unacceptable in public areas"

      "I've allowed you to search through both my girlfriend's belongings as well as my own WITHOUT a warrant, and then when you accuse me of doing those things, I'm the one who's acting unlawfully in public. Screw you bitch"

      "Right sir, that was your last chance, attacking an officer is a crime, be it verbal or physical, and I'm requesting your presence at the station. It can be done forcefully if you fail to comply"

      "James, calm down honey. There's no point in getting angry for something she can't comprehend"

      "See officer? I told you they were involved!"

      "Ash, be quiet. Remember the time he turned on you before, over you lacking gratitude? What do you think he'll do if you interrupt him here? Didn't you see the picture of Weezing that Jenny held up in her lovely hands? That must have only just happened, as he still had Weezing when we saw him in the hospital nearly two weeks ago"

      "That's just a cover story; things like that don't really happen to people. It's just a way to swindle the police force into believing that he didn't steal the pokémon"

      "Ash, I really think that the picture was taken, not modified. Do you seriously think he could act that convincingly?"

      "No way, why didn't he go to the police with it instead of hoarding evidence?"

      "He's a criminal. If he reported it, he'd be arrested, and now because of us, he will be. If you weren't so adamant at being right all the time, you'd see that he's hurting through all of this, and his present anger is merely a façade to hide his emotions"

      James snatched the photographs away from the woman and warned her not to try to take them back, not caring what would happen to him since arrest appeared to be inevitable at this point. Jenny looked infuriated at this point, and she would have physically attacked James to place his hands in handcuffs except for a request for backup was made through her two-way radio, and the fact that it was related to the discovery of the missing pokémon in another town made it obvious that they weren't guilty of the theft that they had been accused of. Jenny was momentarily confused regarding what she had to do, and she finally understood how upset the youth was and said, with a wink, that if she returned in half an hour, he'd better be waiting for his arrest. He thanked her and said that they'd be there, whenever she did return, and he clearly knew that she didn't intend to. She glared at the cap-wearing twerp and drove away on her motorcycle to the scene of the crime, leaving James breaking down completely into Jessie's arms. She managed to soothe her distressed lover, and she felt his body tighten when they heard the pre-adolescents exchanging opinions on the situation. James rubbed away his remaining tears and kissed Jessie on her cheek before attempting to thank her for her help, but he was cut off when Ash asked him where they had hidden Weezing whilst Jenny had been there. Ash thought that his glare was only to signify that he wasn't prepared to reveal the secret, but after watching his vacant stare for so long, James answered him in an unnaturally cold tone.

      "Dead"

      "You murdered your pokémon? I could never dream of doing anything like that to Pikachu. You heartless…"

      "If I were you I would refrain from finishing that sentence; my patience is limited, and you're really annoying me today"

      He took a picture from the envelope and held it up right in front of Ash's eyes, and snarled out:

      "Do you think I could do this, then keep the pictures as a happy memento? I had to pick him up and bury him when I found him like that, so I think you should decide that I can do nearly anything right now without fear, and that includes shutting you up. A damn site of bad stuff has happened to us since we last crossed paths, and this is merely scratching the surface"

      "But…but…but…but what about when you were in hospital?"

      "That was nothing compared to what we both face now. And for the record, it's very impolite to stutter. Didn't your mother teach you any manners along with all of that arrogance?"

      "DON'T MENTION MY MOTHER AGAIN!!!!"

      Ash screamed out as he lunged for James with his fist, aiming for his injured hip, but since Jessie was standing at the target point, she extended her fist quickly and struck him in his nose, and she received a satisfying crack for her efforts. James looked at her in surprise and she grinned as she felt him squeeze her right hand in gratitude before she said:

      "You mess with James, you mess with me. You can stop your crying—he didn't when he was in the trap, and he sure as hell didn't when he was beaten up the other day. I think we deserve an apology for your interfering, not your complaints"

      "You stupid bitch, you broke my nose!!!"

      "Jessie, go easy on him. He hasn't got the same strength I have"

      "Rule number one, I'm not stupid, and if I hear you calling me a bitch again, you won't know when I'll strike again"

      She looked as if she was going to kiss James again {he knew her better than that} and she kicked outwards, making him double up as she made contact with his reproductive system. She grabbed him by his neck and pulled him upwards until they made eye contact before hissing:

      "You'd better be grateful that I'm letting those comments you made about both my job and myself a couple of weeks ago slide. Just because I live in a different world than you do does **not** mean I'm stupid, evil or a prostitute. You never have a problem finding something to eat, or shelter at night and that's just one difference between us"

      "Will you please move away from my car now? It seems that you were right about us acting illegally earlier—I have no intention of waiting for my father, which means I'll be driving without a licence or insurance. It also means that Jessie will be coming with me, indicating we both openly lied to the police. There's a phone down the road. Why don't you ring someone who cares?"

      "It seems that my birthday's going alright, doesn't it James?"

      The next thing they knew, Brock was beside them, asking her how old she was with a stupid look on his face, explaining that she'd need birthday kisses. James mock-glared at Brock and informed him that her quota had already been reached, and he said with a grin that she had been partaking in public complete nudity lately. His remark earned him a slap to the bicep from his lover, and she reluctantly admitted that she had done it when Brock almost indecipherably asked her if it was true. She growled that James had also done it, and he saw Misty automatically glancing up from Ash's side when she heard about James' recent performance, but he didn't mention it to anyone. He excused them and they returned to the car with Brock staring after Jessie who got into the driver's seat, and the older teenagers laughed as Ash jumped into Misty's arms for protection, and even more to their amusement, she dropped him onto the ground. They exchanged a quick kiss before Meowth began to complain, and they waved goodbye to the others as Jessie drove out of the parking lot, not failing to notice Ash crying on the ground. It was only when they returned to the mansion that they noticed Pikachu asleep just behind James' seat, and they both grinned broadly when they realised that they'd be able to give Giovanni a bonus pokémon.

      Turquoise City, 19:37hours…

      She had never felt so alone in her entire life as she made herself her first edible meal in days, and she allowed tears to roll freely down her face as she knew that she would probably be alone for a great number of months. Her employers had terrified her, and she couldn't see how her life could improve after finding out what their new instructions were. She was beginning to hate herself when she thought about what she had to do to Jessie during the following night; although she wasn't her favourite person in the whole world, nobody deserved the treatment that she was due to receive. The scent of burning food brought her attention back to the dimension that it was supposed to be in, and she was happy to see that her dinner was only slightly scorched. She ate it hungrily before returning to her bedroom for some sleep, not realising exactly how different her world would be the following night, and how one of her desires would override her present hatred…

      He looked out of the large window, crying as he did so. He could have lost his life earlier, but something had caused his partner to want him alive. He suffered from continuous flashbacks of him raping her, and he was terrified when he realised that he'd need to be in touch with du Paor for the concoction they were to feed Jessie the next day, and his new-found conscience was advising him against it. He wanted to visit his friend, but he knew that it wouldn't be an intelligent move in her present state, and he'd probably just cause her to be more confused than she already was. He kept rubbing his earlobe to remove the warm feeling that repeatedly returned to him when he thought of the gunshot, and he was disgusted at himself for having wet himself and having to remain in that revolting moisture for nearly five hours. It wasn't so much that he found the stench disgusting, it was more that she, of all people, had to see him like that, and he found it more undermining for his reputation than anything he had ever done in the past, and that included when he had imitated some of James' tactics for encouraging du Paor to give him some narcotics. A silent shudder engulfed his body, and he shakily dialled the number to the person he detested speaking to, to ask him for the various tablets that he'd need for the 'whore' they were supposed to annihilate.

      James was presently spoiling the 'whore' in question with a lavish meal that he had cooked especially for her to mark the date, and they were ever-so-slightly tipsy from the amount of wine they had drunk. James realised that if his plans were to work properly, he would need to sober her up a little bit. After they had finished eating, he took her by the hand and he said, much to her disapproval, that they were going to burn off some of the calories by taking a walk around the grounds. She giggled as she followed him and pushed him against a wall once they were outside to seize a kiss that she had yearned for throughout the dinner, and they found it next to impossible to keep their clothes on. He looked at her lustfully before grabbing her wrist and tearing off in a direction that was unfamiliar to her, and once he'd slowed down, she saw that they were in the rose garden that could be seen from the windows in his wing. He led her to the centre of it, where there was a circular stone seat that bore weird markings in the lush jade grass, and he explained that his grandfather had made it since the pair of them always spent long periods of time in the garden together, and it had made the whole area more enjoyable for him as a child. He looked distant for a moment before picking a yellow rose for her to symbolise their friendship. He jokingly added that he couldn't give her a red one as it would clash with her hair, and a white one wouldn't be valid, as there wasn't any purity in either of them. She mock-angrily pushed him, and then leaned forward for another kiss as she was feeling particularly romantic in their new settings, and she felt almost disappointed when James kept his hands on her hips, and she felt anxious when she felt him pull back and whisper:

      "Jessie, my intentions aren't like that right now, and I need to be honest with you. I didn't bring you here for sex in the moonlight. I want to ask you something"

      "You sound serious, is there anything wrong?"

      "Not exactly, I just don't quite know how to phrase it. I know its very early in our relationship, but there's something I really need to ask you"

      "Have I done something wrong? Is sex boring for you?"

      "No, it's nothing like that. Besides, sex is great. You know I love you right?"  
      "Yes, and I love you too. You're really worrying me now"

      "Calm down Jess, I don't want to break up with you if that's what you're thinking. Quite the opposite actually"

      "Just say it James, I won't hate you for it, regardless of whatever it is"

      With a deep sigh, he bit his lip and continued.

      Turquoise City, 21:00hours…

      She jolted awake as she heard knocking on her bedroom door and switched on the second lamp beside her, still too upset from the night before to lie down in the dark, even though she was presently fully clothed. Her pulse quickened and caused a steady and unbearable throb to form in her wrist, and her throat became dry until she heard the knocking stop for her to hear her partner calling her name, explaining that he wanted to talk. She screamed for him to go away and waited to hear his footsteps retracting before breathing heavily to release the tension that had built up inside her chest from being disturbed in the darkness. He cursed himself for acting so moronically; he should have foreseen that it would scare her, especially since he didn't know where she had received the lust-originated bruise that he had seen on her throat in the hospital. He had only wanted to talk to her and ask her why she had found his life to be so valuable, and at the most to ask her if she'd try to forgive him for the stupid mistake he had made.

      Back in the rose garden, Jessie listened intently as her lover began to tell her what had been distracting his conscience all evening, and she had become increasingly worried by his quickened breathing.

      "I've loved you for far longer than you know, and I'm not sure to what extent that feeling is mutual. However, I'm not sure if you think it's a little early to suggest this, but I feel like it's the right time. If you don't, well, I'm willing to wait until the time is right for you. What I'm trying to do is, Jessie, I'd like to ask for your hand in marriage"

      The next thing she knew, he was kneeling in front of her with a gorgeous engagement ring presented to her, with its many facets glowing slightly in the moonlight. She was stunned—she had often imagined this moment, but it still appeared to be surreal to hear the words actually coming from his mouth, or at least not when she had just turned eighteen. If the exercise hadn't done it, that statement had certainly sobered her up. He had never felt more scared in his entire life, and that included facing the wrath of six gyrados that he had personally enraged, and now he felt like running into the surrounding forestry, for he knew that her rejection was imminent. To add insult to injury, his lacerations were searing in pain from the position he was squatting in and it made the whole situation more humiliating for him, and his heart was caught in his mouth when he heard her telling him:

      "Get up"

      He felt like his stomach had been punched with a sheet of ice as he heard her say it, and it took him all of his willpower to hide his pain at her rejection. He closed the box and prepared to slide it into his pocket when he felt her hand grasping his wrist in the midst of his action, and he realised she was saying something before he could protest at her motion.

      "Don't even think about putting that away. You give me something for my birthday and try to take it back? What are you playing at? I told you to get up because I have wedding photos to think of, and I do not want to be bending down to kiss you when you've crippled yourself from kneeling needlessly on the ground"

      "Does that mean what I think it means?"

      "Did you seriously think I'd reject a proposal from the second best-looking person in the world?"

      "I suppose you're the first?"  
      "Naturally. Now are you going to give me that ring or not?"

      A large grin spread across his face as she admired the item of jewellery in question and once he was certain that she had it on properly, he pounced on her without warning and kissed her passionately. Even though she was less enthusiastic about him forcing her back onto the cold stone slab, she laughed to vent her pain and total sense of nirvana before asking if she could have her moonlight sex now, and his response was clearly both aroused and shocked at the same time when he asked her if she was certain if she wanted to copulate in front of the large house. She pulled her top off as she said that she wouldn't marry him if he didn't do it before reminding him that all of the manservants were off-duty until the following morning. He seemed less alarmed by the hazardous concept and succumbed to her wishes, not realising that a pair of young male brown eyes were watching them from a window in the western wing. With a smirk to himself, he made himself completely comfortable in the armchair as he watched the object of his aspiration peeling off all of her clothes in his clear vision. He was satisfied with the knowledge that he couldn't be caught in the same actions that he had performed in the woods as the door was securely locked, and the unwitting performers couldn't have been further than five metres away from him.

AN:

Before you begin to wonder how the photographs were there, and why Jessie seemed surprised by the content, if you think back, James only mentioned them during their argument in the car {after visiting Jessie Belle} and didn't actually show them to her. For some reason, one reader who read this in advance thought when James' mother told the female assailant not to look if she didn't want to see her partner dead was humorous, and this honestly wasn't intended. The third assailant is completely isolated from the other two, and is not hired by James' parents. People's pride, on the other hand, suffered greatly, especially when nineteen year olds find that they have rather embarrassing bladder problems. C'mon people, don't you think I deserve a review for all of this writing??? And on a vital ending note: No murkrows were injured in the making of this chapter.


	19. September 19th, 2000

                                                Tuesday, September 19th 2000            

      James winced at the sunlight catching the corner of his eye as he woke up the following morning, and he slid out of bed to prevent it from waking his girlfriend also. He stood by the window to watch Growly twitching in his sleep every so often before drawing the lush velvet curtains together, and a faint grunt from Jessie made him realise that he hadn't been sufficiently circumspect in his action. He put some fresh underwear and a pair of jeans on before leaving the bedroom extremely carefully, to ensure that she wouldn't awaken before his return. He walked to the nearest kitchen without concentrating on anything other than memories of the night before, and as much of a convincing liar that he could be, there was no disguising the strain that a serious lack of sleep was creating on his facial features. His motions were performed hazily as he persisted in recalling his evening with Jessie; not only was he ecstatic about her acceptance, he was finding perverted pleasure in dwelling on her numerous routines to show that she was willing to marry him. Whilst he allowed himself a private smirk, he mentally decided that the night before would act as good practice for their honeymoon date whenever they set it. Unfortunately, his private smirk wasn't completely private, as a pair of feline eyes watched him from the corridor, and the frustrated cat realised that he probably wouldn't receive a conversation from either of them that didn't involve telling him how wonderful their spouse was.

      She woke up in the luxurious hotel room that her partner had paid for, and a fresh sense of foreboding was the first thing she had become aware of, not realising that her life was going to improve throughout that day. Her initial thoughts were to take a shower, but her newly developed fear of her own nudity tried to convince her otherwise, even though her hair looked as though she were allergic to combs. She cursed her own stupidity and ran the water as she removed the clothes she had slept in, and she saw the ugly pigments that the Butch character had left on her body. She squeezed the railing in the shower to vent her pain without screaming as the water bounded rapidly against her wrist, and much to her dismay, she became hypnotised by the sight of her self-inflicted wound under the transparent layer. Her body tensed as she heard footsteps in the corridor outside her room, and she relaxed once she was certain that they had continued to travel in the opposite direction. Although she detested the thought of having company just yet, she was really beginning to feel isolated from civilisation; when she thought about it, she always had been with the line of work she had undertaken, but at the beginning of her career, she had a better social life and her partner's presence had been enjoyable, not to mention the fact that she had been in a relationship with the love of her life at the start of it, and her training in Team Rocket had been hidden from him. She had wanted to work herself into a high rank to impress him, but when she was bordering admittance into the Elite Squad, she had thrown the opportunity away to save his life after overhearing some of Giovanni's intentions. Both her and her partner had been gracelessly discharged {even though his had been a resignation, not for the minor rebellion she had staged}, and James was completely ignorant of her sacrifice. Jessie ditching her boyfriend at the same time had appeared to act like salt to her wounds at the time as she naturally became single for James to ask her out. Due to her dismissal from both him and her employer in the span of two days, she had snapped at him to leave her alone a little more frequently than for her liking when he had apologised for the countless time, and to her dismay, he did just that. The only physical contact she had made with him since then was the time she had kissed him in the hospital, and the fact he hadn't even known that it was her made her feel even more isolated. She feared the next time he'd speak to her would be when they were initiating the looming final stage of their employment, and that was going to be on far from romantic conditions. It was after all, going to involve murder and she knew that in a situation facing death, she would never hear another apology from him. To add even more pain to her system, she knew that that situation would arise within the next week, otherwise she would be the one being sent to an early grave.

      James had detected a presence behind him and tensed momentarily, suddenly afraid that his parents might be back from visiting his aunt, which acted as a reminder for him to ring to see how she was doing. He glanced behind him and saw it was Meowth and replied with a grin that he was engaged and cooking a celebratory breakfast when he was asked why he was cooking without Jessie being up. He noticed the annoyed look in Meowth's eyes but let it slide, not wanting to kill his good mood over a petty argument, and grinned again when he asked the old feline what they should say when they formally presented Pikachu that evening. Meowth smiled as a gesture rather than as his usual one, and then slinked off down the corridor dejectedly, leaving James feeling guilty when he felt like they had been ignoring Meowth over the last while. He turned the heat on the gas off and went in the direction that he thought he had travelled in, and gasped when he saw him.

      Jessie woke up alone, but she knew that he wouldn't have abandoned her after giving her such an expensive looking ring. What she didn't know, however, was that she wouldn't have sex with James again for quite some time, if ever again. She rubbed her eyes before looking at it in the darkened room—even in the dim light, she was able to clearly see the large central sapphire along with its reflections in the facets of the eight surrounding diamonds. Their interlinking names had been inscribed on the underside of the band, and although she couldn't see it whilst she wore it, never mind the poor light, she had remembered thinking how highly attractive it had looked when she examined it after the hour or two they had spent in the glass-roofed swimming pool. She was surprised by James' sudden entrance into the bedroom, and he told her to get dressed as quickly as she could whilst he followed his own instructions, as there was something she needed to see, even though he knew that it was going to seriously upset her. She couldn't get an answer out of him as he pulled on his clothes, and he ran his hands through his hair whilst Jessie began to dress herself. He pulled her closely to him and pressed her lips to his before whispering that he was only showing her to prevent any vicious remarks regarding him withholding information from her. Her eyes bore worry and frustration at not knowing what had happened for him to look like that, and she became even more perplexed when she saw him collecting a pair of tweezers and sheets of toilet roll. She felt nausea sweep through her system when he finally showed her the grotesque image due to the horrific contrast that was visible between Meowth's creamy coat and the crimson liquid that had originated in his own body.

      He felt weary and sleep-deprived when he woke up in his apartment late in the morning, and he began to fear what his partner's reaction would be when the time to enhance Jessie's drink would arrive. Despite of his excitement regarding what he might be able to do to her in the later stages of the night, he was taking his friend's feelings into account since the last time she would have seen any form of non-prescribed drug would have been the time he violated her body. If he could ever take one moment back again in his life, it wouldn't have been her first time. It would have been making friends with the thief that had stolen his friend's heart, as he would probably never met du Paor if it hadn't been for that addict. There was no denying his lecherous feelings for Jessie (he'd had them since he had seen her for the first time years ago), but he didn't want to act in such a manner that would jeopardise his future with his victim. He sighed as he dragged himself out of the large bed and felt depression cause his insides to sink as he heard his footsteps echo across an otherwise empty apartment, and he discovered his irritation at wearing a tuxedo at the gala later, not to mention the difficulties he would have in giving Jessie the spiked drinks without her recognising him first. He had caught a bus back to Lazuli City to reclaim their mode of transport, and then he had driven to Viridian City to collect the substances from the black man that many feared. His body was still fatigued from the events that had unfolded during the day before, and he was now completely broken from all of the driving he had done just to ensure the twisted instructions they had been given from their employers regarding their next duties went totally as intended. He caught a glimpse of his reflection in a nearby mirror, and suddenly realised exactly how pathetic and timid he looked; his eyes were clearly revealing the pain he felt from the burdens his jobs involved, his hair had lost the same shine in the colour he had once been so proud of, and the childish gleam had visibly disappeared from his appearance. The stubble looked out of place on him, and it was only when he was running warm water that he remembered the last razor that he had used had also been the one to nearly end his partner's life. He hallucinated blood on the imprisoned metal, and there was nothing he could do to stop his hand from shaking as he drew the object over his face, which unfortunately left more than a couple of nicks on his face in its wake.

      James knelt beside the unconscious feline whilst he used some of the tissue to dab up some of the blood that was beginning to clot in Meowth's otherwise immaculate fur, and he had regrettably needed to shave back some of his coat to get the fragments of ceramic out of the wounds. After he had left the kitchen to ask his friend if he was all right in reference to the forthcoming wedding, James had heard a large crash and a scream around the corner that Meowth had just turned. He had found his friend sprawled beside a table and a large antique porcelain vase trapped the weakened creature who was both unconscious and bleeding profusely, and James had luckily noticed the debris embedded in the many abrasions before trying to move him, which would have succeeded in expanding them. Jessie stood at a distance, barely able to comprehend the fact that her close friend was injured, especially when it wasn't like him to knock something off a table. In fact, she couldn't recall an example of when he had actually knocked anything off a table in the past. James knew one thing that Jessie didn't, and he mentally refused to mention it to her at this stage in case her reaction distracted his concentration that was required {that was heavily diluted with worry as it was}. The glass vase usually resided on an antique table much further down the corridor, and James clearly understood that the only feasible way for an inanimate object to travel that distance was for a person to throw it. Somebody had deliberately aimed to hit Meowth, and it now put a dark atmosphere on the one place that James had been certain would guarantee safety for both his friends and himself.

      Central lounge in the mansion, 13:57hours…

      James carefully dialled the number to his aunt's house since he wished to ask his parents questions regarding security, and he had done so whilst Jessie had been out of hearing distance, not wishing for her to overhear anything that might be said about her, or an even worse possibility, anything that was linked to his past. He politely asked the head butler to tell Alexandria that he wished to speak to her, and he felt strange when he heard her voice since she didn't sound as though she had been involved in any sort of accident lately. She found it strange that he kept asking her if she was certain that she was alright, and she eventually asked him what he meant by that question, and she was astounded to hear that he was under the impression that she had suffered from an attack during a theft lately, and that his parents were staying with her.

      "I'm sorry James, but they're not here. In fact, I haven't heard from them since the last time you called me"

      "What did you just say?"

      "I'm sorry if that's what they told you James, but I honestly haven't seen them in quite some time, and I haven't had anything wrong with me other than a bad dose of a cold I had a few weeks back. Can I help you with anything?"

      "Well, it was Jessie's birthday yesterday, do you think that they deliberately left us alone? Mother really did look angry the last time I spoke with her though, and you know that she usually doesn't lie to me" * AN: He doesn't know the half of it! *

      "So Jessie's back on talking terms with you, eh? I told you that you were acting like a lovesick kid the last time we spoke, and the way your tone changed when you said her name confirmed it. Lovesick kid!!!"

      "And, like I said last time, I AM NOT!!! That's one less person to give an invite to"

      "Invite? As in wedding invite?"

      "Maybe. I asked her last night and she accepted, even though it was the most nerve-wrecking moment in my life"

      "Lovesick kid is right. I'd congratulate you, but why would I bother when I can't have you?"

      "Stop that, for the last time what happened to us wasn't a relationship, it was a side-effect of whatever we took at the time. You always were a bad influence on me"

      "Yes, but I never made you do those things, did I? All I did was pick up the pieces when you were left for dead in that alley"

      "Do you think I can forget that? It did more damage to my pride than my body, and that's REALLY saying something. Do you think I can ever just forget what I did to those people?"

      "I can imagine you see their faces whenever you're on top of your new fiancée: 'No Jessie, we can't have sex. I'm too busy dwelling on my highly incriminating past that I've never bothered telling you about for the whole time we've been together'"

      "That's not fair. I do think about what I did. I didn't lose my conscience when my virginity disappeared you know"

      "I know. I'm still trying to convince myself that it wasn't my fault, but the more I try to do it, the more I know it's my fault you were in that situation in the first place"

      "I can't blame anyone but myself. You never forced me to do anything. Sadly, I certainly forced people into thinking and feeling things that weren't true"

      "Don't get yourself depressed James. Why are you crying?"  
      "Someone tried to kill Meowth this morning, and this house is too big for me to have any hope in finding out who committed the crime, I have a lot of people that want me dead and I'm always lying to Jessie"

      "You aren't lying to her if you mean she's ignorant of what we know. You haven't told her, and that's vastly different from lying to her. You'll tell her someday, and if you don't get around to it, take a moment to think if it's worth pouring your soul out to her if there's a chance that she has a secret past too"

      "How can anything she did be anywhere near as awful as my history? It's getting harder to tell her with each passing day, and although I can't tell her now, I don't want to tell her after we've been on our honeymoon"

      "Shhhh Jimmy, it's fine. Dry your eyes—what'll she say if you wash the shine out of them? I know I'd resent you if you ever lost that sparkle"

      "I think I'd better go and check how he's doing. Take care Sash"

      "You too James. And for flip's sake, sexy men like you shouldn't cry at your age"

      "And sexy women like you shouldn't flirt with their own nephew"

      "Where's the fun in that then? I love hearing you laugh, and I'm glad to see you're cheering up a bit. Take care of yourself James, as well as your friends"

      "Will do. Talk to you later Sash"

      He dried his eyes properly after hanging up, and he decided to wait in the lounge until the red lines had disappeared from the rim of his eyes. The last thing he needed to hear would be Jessie fussing over him when his misery had been self-induced, and he didn't want to tell her anything about the phone call; if she found out about the circumstances involved with the times he had fooled around with a blood relative (which was disturbing enough as it was), he could forget about their wedding altogether, and most likely their friendship too. The attack that had been made on Meowth was terrifying James as it indicated that their was a form of mutiny within his own home, and if he couldn't find sanctuary in his house, what hope would there be for him elsewhere? The old feline had luckily regained a steady form of breathing, and when James rejoined Jessie, it appeared that he had nearly regained consciousness. They still hadn't attempted to move him in case it did more harm to him than good, and to hear him making a few grunts as his breathing became more regulated made them both ecstatic.

      Upper landing, 14:34hours…

      The same youth who had been taking pleasure in watching his supposed employer's fiancée finished writing a note explaining that there would be a meeting in a distant city that would provide a colossal amount of work for the family business, which was, naturally, counterfeit. He smirked to himself as he re-read it as he knew exactly how vulnerable Jessie would be now that he would have taken both of her companions out of commission. He folded the message in half and then he sprinted down two long staircases before approaching one of the housemaids to deliver it to James, and he explained to the woman that he was caught amidst some important work at that moment and that he didn't have enough free time to deliver the message himself. He watched the nervous worker take it to follow her duties immediately, and he knew that this woman wouldn't question him since she was the most-recently hired member on the entire workforce. He licked his lips as he realised that it would only be a matter of hours until the final stage of his desires had been reached, and he knew how much easier it would be to accomplish if her clinically brain-dead fiancé believed the message. His next move was to access the kitchens once James had left and make a meal for Jessie, knowing that she'd be too hungry to refuse, and then he would add a special ingredient that would make the afternoon go more easily.

      James was running his hand along Jessie's back to soothe her, as they were both kneeling on the ground next to Meowth to ensure his stability, and he still seemed to be struggling slightly with his breathing. Both of them were hungry as neither of them had consumed anything yet, but on the other hand neither wanted to stay away from Meowth in case something happened in their absence. The new housemaid took James by surprise when she rested her hand on his shoulder, and then she asked him if he would allow himself a moment for him to read the note that she had been given to deliver to him. He smiled as he took it from her because he knew that she was still a novice, and he thanked her as she shyly made her exit. His eyes scanned over the parchment and he cursed to himself when he realised what was required from him, and upon being asked by his girlfriend, he showed her the letter whilst attempting to stand up on his weak leg that had gone numb from the position he had been sitting in. He kissed her on her lips and he explained that he'd be back as soon as he could, but he also added that if he wasn't back by half eight that she was to leave without him and he'd make his own way there. She seemed to be dreadfully upset at the mere mention of his departure, but she agreed to his idea in spite of her true feelings. She squeezed his hand as she kissed him one last time, and she suddenly felt isolated given that she was in a house far bigger than any building she had ever been in and she didn't know anybody else's name. She hated looking at Meowth's shaven fur with airtight plasters here and there on his skin, and she was actually relieved when she saw the housemaid return with a large meal for her, which had apparently been made for her under James' orders. Jessie offered her a warm smile as the young woman apologised for leaving her company so suddenly, but she explained that she had many errands to perform before she could even think of taking a minute to herself. Jessie felt sorry for her, as she knew what it was like to run around without any time-off for anything up to thirteen hours from a job she had taken on as a carnival assistant with James when they were seriously short on money. One manservant in particular, however, thought the girl to be weak and gullible as she had taken two tasks that had originated within his own head at face value; even though it was true that James had sought out the girl to arrange for a meal to be made for Jessie, his own meal had been nearly finished at that point, with his special ingredient intact. All he'd needed to do was to tell her that the chef had made it, and she had automatically delivered it—why should she go to the chef to ask him if he had really made that meal?

      Turquoise City, 17:42hours…

      Even though it was against her principles to attend the formal dance that evening, she had decided that she might as well buy herself something that would make her less conspicuous than when she was in Team Rocket Headquarters, one of the only two people in the room out of uniform. She was at the cashier paying for an ankle-length black velvet dress that fitted her without being tight enough to attract unwanted male attention, and the neck on it had been loose to flatter her clavicle, but not loose enough to show any of her cleavage. She had bought a matching black velvet scarf to cover up the ugly marks that Butch had left on her neck, and she had bought full-length gloves to hide both her suicide attempt and the bruises on her biceps from when her partner had taken his liberties with her. Her outfit had worked out to be far cheaper than she had imagined, and she even had enough left out of what she had budgeted to buy her first pair of decent shoes in quite some time. Even though she hated the thought of being under the same roof as both of her rapists for an entire night, and ignoring the fact that she hated Jessie's guts, she was really looking forward to seeing James in a tuxedo; it was one thought that had always succeeded in driving her wild, and there hadn't been a lot of opportunities for him to do so when they dated in the past. She waited until her purchases had been packed by the assistant and she walked briskly back to her apartment; although it was still early, she didn't like the idea of walking alone in a city that was completely unfamiliar to her.

      Copper City, 19:35 hours…

      James had finally reached the conclusion that the meeting wasn't going to take place, and it made him wonder why the other conglomerate that obviously didn't intend meeting him had given him such specific arrangements. He was cold to the bone from staying by a fast flowing river to keep their rendezvous, and the breeze that the icy water emitted cut right through him. His body didn't have any energy to burn for an insulator as he had only grabbed something light to eat at a small store whilst he refuelled the sports car. He blew on his hands as he approached a public payphone and dialled his house number, hoping to catch Jessie before she left for the formal event, if only to make a meeting point if she still wanted to leave in case he returned later than expected. The voice on the other end of the phone was one that sounded vaguely familiar, and he felt dismayed to learn that she had already left. James thanked the person and hung up, wondering why she would have left nearly an hour prematurely than when they had arranged. What he didn't realise was that the person who he'd just been speaking to had taken liberties with his fiancée just before picking up the phone, and now he needed to revive her in case James arrived back earlier than he intended. He fixed her clothing as best he could before rubbing some smelling salts under her nose to make her wake up. She knew that something was wrong the second she opened her eyes, but she felt too ill from whatever had been in her food to ask where she was. She saw that she was no longer in the hall with Meowth but in the bedroom, and some strange man was standing above her. Her vision was too fuzzy from watering for her to be able to work out who it was, and she recognised the laugh as he left her in the bedroom—he had been the same person from the darkened room the other day, and she felt panicky as she realised that she had been asleep with the same creep in the room, and he could have kissed her and felt her without her noticing. She assured herself that this couldn't have happened as she had always woken up if James had kissed her, and her clothes looked as if they were untouched, but it was only when she stood up on shaky legs she realised that she didn't have any underwear on underneath her clothes. She collapsed back onto the bed and she was inwardly screaming, trying to remember what she had done over the last few hours, but she couldn't recall anything from that day, even when James was still there. She became near hysterical as she continued to try and remember anything that could have happened to her, and it took her twenty minutes for her to realise that she was supposed to be going somewhere that night. She gathered her courage and stood up and walked over to the wardrobe where she had kept it in case it got wrinkled if she kept it with her normal clothes, and after getting the underwear she had bought especially for it, she went to a corner of the room and got changed where she couldn't be seen from any keyholes or windows. It was only when she stood before the mirror to see how she looked that she noticed her engagement ring matched the dress perfectly, and she wondered how much James thought about her eyes whenever he bought her something with a shade of blue in it. She fixed her hair the way she wanted it, but she needed to wait for a few minutes until her hands had stopped shaking enough for her to apply her make up. It was nearly half eight by the time she was finished, and she felt disappointed that James wasn't back in time; she would have liked to go somewhere with him to let other people know that he was her boyfriend/fiancé for once, but it looked liked she'd need to wait for another while for that opportunity.

      She decided to check on Meowth one last time, and she was ecstatic to see that he was curled up in a different position than when she had last seen him; even if he wasn't awake when she saw him, it meant that he had enough strength to move around all the same. It was nearly a quarter to nine by the time she realised that she would be travelling alone for certain, and she sought out the housemaid for some advice on how to arrange a chauffeur, since James had been adamant in making sure that she had one. The woman cheerfully informed her that there was one already outside waiting for her to go to Turquoise City, and he was ready to leave whenever she was. Jessie thanked her and ensured that she had the ticket with her before entering the vehicle, unaware of whom exactly her chauffeur was…

      Mansion grounds, 21:13 hours…

      James hurriedly raced inside the house to get ready, and he ran into the housemaid at the top of the marble staircase, and shock didn't even begin to describe the feeling that sank into his system when he heard her saying that he had only just missed his girlfriend by twenty minutes. He looked at her to see if she was telling the truth and he said that he had rung at half seven and he was told that she had already left, and she seemed just as surprised as he was to hear this. She stammered that she had waited until it appeared that he wouldn't be back in time to leave with her, and she had seemed very disappointed that she couldn't have gone with him. He asked her to try and find out who had answered the phone call earlier, and for her to find out if this so-called arrangement had been genuine, and judging by the scared look on her face, he could tell that she felt guilty and told her that it wasn't remotely her fault. He peeled off his clothes and threw his tuxedo on quickly—he'd had enough practice at getting dressed quickly from all the nights like this one he'd needed to attend as a kid—and he raced back downstairs with his ticket and envelope so that he could try to leave as soon as possible. After checking on Meowth, he stopped off in one of the kitchens to grab as much light food as he could since he didn't like the idea of drinking alcohol on an empty stomach, not to mention he was really hungry from all the driving he'd done without eating a proper meal all day.

      Gala at Turquoise City Hall, 22:54hours…

      He had found an easy way to feed Jessie the concoctions as it turned out that he was a great friend with one of the people serving the drinks behind the bar. Jessie seemed to be taking the drugs a little harder than either of them had expected {they knew nothing about the heavy dose of the date rape drug that a stranger had given her}, and it took Giovanni far shorter than they had intended for him to lead her away from the crowd. She nearly cried to herself as she saw Jessie being taken into one of the guarded rooms at the back of the building, for she knew exactly what was going to happen to her old friend and she could speak from experience that she knew what Jessie was about to go through would be hell. James arrived a few minutes later, and luckily for him, he hadn't seen Giovanni's blatant preparations to seduce his fiancée. He was rather irritated at the lies he had been fed earlier, and as soon as he saw Jessie, he'd ask her if she knew anything about it, even though she probably wouldn't. Hopefully the maid would have some answers for him by the time he was back, but until then he needed to keep an eye out for Giovanni to give him what he had demanded. James was going to be highly satisfied at seeing his employer's face when it was clear that he wasn't supposed to be able to provide even a mere fraction of the conditions. James felt like Pikachu allowing them to capture it was the icing on the cake—it meant he had even more to present Giovanni with than what anyone expected of them, and it showed that the pikachu they continually spent their funds on {and got their salaries cut as a result} did exist. The place was a lot bigger than it had been when he had attended similar events in the past, and it was only when he scanned the crowd for Giovanni that he noticed a very familiar face amongst the crowd, and he decided to go over to her to see if she had finally forgiven him for the way he had been jerking her around.

      She never noticed him walking up behind her, and she would have jumped when she felt someone hold her waist if she hadn't recognised the one voice she loved listening to:

      "I always told you that black makes you look stunning"

      She turned around and saw that it wasn't just a mere manifestation of her desires, and after she had happily stammered out her greeting, she heard him ask if she'd forgiven him yet. She jokingly glared at him and asked if all he wanted to do was apologise, and he gave her a tight hug in response as he whispered into her ear:

      "I've really missed you. You have no idea how much that hurt when you ignored me like that"

      "You really hurt me when you dumped me for her. I see that you actually asked her out this time, judging by her ring that is"

      "You've seen her here? It's true I finally asked her out, but it was only recently this all happened. I couldn't ask her out after I lost contact with you—I felt so guilty for ending what we had like that—I couldn't just ask her out. It would make it seem like I was betraying you"

      "Why? You'd had experience at doing it by that time"

      "Does that make it any better? Did that take away any of my pain? No, it made it worse actually. Call me a child if you want, but there were too many times when I thought if having Jessie was worth hurting you like that"

      "Child!! Seriously, I regretted making you think how much I hated you at the time, but I was only mad at you. Granted, really, **really **mad at you, but I loved what I had with you"

      "You haven't seen Giovanni around have you? I'm meant to give him something and if I don't give it to him soon, my life may be at stake"

      "Uhh, James, I'm not feeling too great, can we sit down outside for a while? I think I need some fresh air"

      "No problems. What's wrong with you?"

      I'm lying to you every minute, when you ask me why I'm here I'll feel like dying, I'm going outside so you don't see your fiancée coming out with Giovanni to name but a few

      "The heat in here is making me light-headed and I feel like I'm going to pass out"

      "There's an exit, do you need any support or can you see straight?"

      "Will you please put your arm around me? I'm not sure how I'll be able to walk out in these shoes, especially since my vision's going"

      Once they were outside, he sat her down on a bench and massaged her temples to make her feel a bit better. He saw her noticeably relax under his touch, which made him think that she was beginning to feel better, not knowing that she wasn't feeling faint in the slightest. It was surprising how much good James' company was doing for her; for the first time in months she actually felt like everything might just work out, even though she knew that there was no chance of that happening. She closed her eyes as they resumed catching up on most things that had happened since they had broken up the second time, but what surprised her was that he didn't mention that he had been attacked by strange people. She honestly told him that she hated every job she had been in since the last time they had spoken, and said that she was trying to get into Team Rocket just to be able to talk to him again, which held some truth in it to a certain extent. She wasn't sure what he was thinking at this point as he didn't say anything, but his fingers had stopped moving all the same. He realised that he was beginning to zone out and apologised before ending the massage and he sat beside her on the bench for the remainder of the conversation, and he explained that his leg was becoming really stiff as he stayed in that position. Without thinking she asked him how it was healing, and when she saw his surprised look at her knowing that there was something other than mere muscle cramp wrong with it, she explained that she had been in Team Rocket Headquarters the day Giovanni had attacked him, and she had seen it both on the video as well as on his skin. He seemed to be more than a little embarrassed when he learnt that she had seen him in a particularly weak moment, and he told her the reason why he needed to give Giovanni the envelope before demurely asking her if she had seen the entire tape. She grinned as she said 'Yes', and there was no mistaking his embarrassment this time, and he quickly explained that he had been drunk at the time and that it wasn't a job he worked at when he wasn't earning enough. She said that regardless of the fact that she loved his body, the tattoo had made him look so much hotter, or at least according to her. He glanced down at her body and back up again and whispered that she could have always pulled off something a little more low-cut without looking like a tramp, and that she could have any man she wanted with a figure like hers. She shook her head and said:

      "How could I get any man I wanted when the only one I want wants someone else? Besides, I haven't 'had' any man James"

      "There's nothing wrong with being a virgin—we've all been one for the best part of twenty years"

      "I'm not a virgin either. I haven't 'had' anyone, but two different people have had me"

      "Does that mean what I think it means?"

      She started crying as she nodded her head and she felt him holding her in his arms, whispering that he'd make everything better for her, and she the way he was gently speaking to her reminded her strongly of the times she had gone out with him. He suddenly realised that she probably didn't want male company holding quite as close to her as he was, and when he said this to her, she told him that she had always enjoyed his touch as it relaxed her, and that she was feeling safe in his arms. He could tell that she had been making hints that she wanted them to give it another shot, but he didn't know how to tell her that he had to stay faithful to Jessie without crushing her spirit. He traced her jaw line with his index finger and asked her if anything else had happened that she felt like he should hear, and he felt nauseous when he saw her sitting up and pulling off her left glove—he knew what she was going to show him before it was even past her elbow. He looked as if he was going to throw up when he saw the stitches behind the clear material, and he certainly didn't know that it had been his own mother's evil idea to allow her to see the extent of the self-inflicted damage. Tears welled up in his eyes as he looked at the vicious wound, and when they finally fell from his emerald eyes, she fixed her glove as she whispered quietly that she had attempted suicide after the first time, and that the second offender had deliberately squeezed her wrist. He tilted her chin up lightly and without properly knowing what he was doing, he kissed her gently on her lips and was glad to see that she was responding instead of forcing him away. They both knew that they shouldn't be doing anything remotely like that with Jessie in the area, but the risk of getting caught didn't seem to be as big an issue as either of them would have imagined. They jolted apart from each other when they heard the door being opened again and panic flooded through James' head when he saw that it was Mondo; since the three of them had always been on fairly close terms, it meant that there was a risk that he'd tell Jessie. Since they'd heard the door before the youth had become visible, they weren't sure how close a position they'd been caught in, and there was a slight chance that he'd only seen them sitting beside each other. Mondo said that he didn't know that there was anyone out here before returning to the dance hall, and since he didn't mention anything about morals, James could only assume that his betrayal had remained unnoticed. They both started to laugh to release the tension that had built up inside them, and James tried to explain that he hadn't intentionally brought her outside to kiss her out of pity or anything, but that it was as if he didn't have any control over his body when it happened. He knew how pathetic that must have sounded and tried to rephrase it, but she seemed to be thinking along the same lines, and for the first time since they had been dating, he noticed the warm sparkle returning to her eyes. They shared one final kiss before returning to the gala together, as they had both decided that it would be for the best if they were seen talking together inside rather than outside. She just hoped that Giovanni had either finished with Jessie or neither of them would show up until some point when James wasn't around.

      James noticed Giovanni leaving one of the rooms at the distant end of the hall and he apologised to the girl before speedily meeting his 'employer' to put an end to this torture. He noticed something in Giovanni's eyes other than sadism, but James just couldn't put a finger on it although he had to think of Meowth to stop smirking at the bruises on his opponents face, and he realised that Giovanni had attempted to cover them up with what looked like foundation. He tossed him the envelope and explained that everything they'd agreed on was there, as well as the pikachu they had been following for months. Much to James' shock, Giovanni began laughing and said that he wasn't so sure if he needed the objects anymore, since he had just been given something to compensate for the countless mistakes they had made in the past. He managed to whisper out menacingly:

      "Pity she's not as good as she looks. You should have given her a better ring too, or are you usually that cheap with your whores?"

      And with that, James delivered an unexpected but speedy blow that broke the older man's nose. When he doubled up, James kneed him in the stomach and glanced into the room and saw Jessie in there with her back to him, struggling to get dressed. James had reached his limit and left the room as quickly as he could before he gave his eyes the chance to betray him by crying in front of the successful section of the organisation. He wasn't aware of how terrified Jessie was as she tried to zip her dress up; she had been treated like nothing more than a piece of meat all evening, and her memory was slowly beginning to return of Giovanni on top of her.

      James ran all the way to his car before he allowed himself to break any of his emotions, and there was quite a lot of them floating inside his head such as anger, hatred and above all, betrayal. The guilt he had felt when he had kissed his ex-girlfriend was nothing compared to his fiancée sleeping with a person he truly detested. He felt a hand run along his back and her knew whom it was without hearing her ask him if he was all right and if she could help him with anything. He told her what had happened before he had left the room and she slid her arms around his waist to comfort him, and he turned around to face her whilst taking great caution with her injured wrist. She involuntarily shivered and he took off his jacket to give to her, and she took great pleasure in seeing him in just his shirt before her, even if there were tears in his eyes at the time. He joined his hands under the jacket on the lower part of her back, and he thanked her for keeping him company when she could have been enjoying herself, and she admitted that both of her rapists were in there, and that stopped anyone having a good time in any situation. He looked shocked that she hadn't told him that when they were in there, and she told him that they were Butch and Deryck. He pulled her a little bit closer towards him as she said their names, and he said that he'd have no problems in returning to knock the stuffing out of them if she wanted him to; he could honestly say that he wouldn't have suspected either of them to defile her the way they had. He could tell that she was being serious as neither of them ever called Deryck by his proper name, but in a moment like this there was no point in calling him by his epithet. He asked her if she'd like to do anything before he drove her to wherever she was staying, but her intentions were obvious when she stretched forward and kissed him with more passion than either of them had used earlier. Jessie's actions had seriously hurt James feelings and because of that, what he was doing with an ex-girlfriend now didn't seem to be affecting his conscience. He suddenly remembered how much she had loved driving when they had gone out together, and decided to offer her something that might make her feel better. He pulled back from her momentarily to ask her if she felt like visiting a place that he thought she'd like, and if she wanted she could drive them there. Her eyes lit up and she took the keys from his pocket as they entered the car; she felt like this car was far superior to anything his parents had given them to drive with, and James' company was much more pleasant than what she was used to.

      Jessie felt petrified whilst attempting to pull her sandals on as Giovanni entered the room with a bloody face. She recognised the envelope he threw on the table and a great sense of depression sank to the pit of her stomach, dragging all of her emotions along with it; she knew that James had just been outside the door for Giovanni to have been out of the room for that short time span, and that meant that she had probably been seen by him. She picked up her other sandal and tried to leave the room without Giovanni noticing her, but she wasn't that lucky. He barked for her to return to where he'd slept with her, and she dejectedly did so as more fear and memories swamped her thoughts, and by his present appearance of hostility she knew better than to disobey him. All she could hope for would be that he wouldn't make her do that again, which was more than likely what he had in mind…

      She loved the view that was at the end of the route that James had told her to take—it was a hilltop that overlooked dense forestry surrounding a large lake. The lights of the now-distant city bordered the edge of the water, and the iridescent glow some small flying pokémon were emitting was enough to give the air a magical atmosphere. The fact that the man of her dreams was squeezing her decent wrist lightly made her feel like she had everything she wanted at that moment, and neither of them said anything for a moment as they absorbed the wondrous scene that lay before their eyes. She was still wearing her jacket, and in the few moments she had to think to herself, she realised just how greatly he contrasted with his parents, and especially when it came to his mother. He ran his fingers tenderly over her back; even though his temptation was telling him to feel her body more than he had, he still held respect for her as a woman and knew that it would make her feel low if he did it after learning what two sons of bitches had done to her. He had noticed the difference in her breathing from when he hadn't moved his digits and now, and he knew that she was enjoying it by the way she was holding him that much tighter. The moon was a stark white compared to the constellations that surrounded it, and he couldn't help but wonder if he should be acting like this towards another woman so soon after seeing Jessie in Giovanni's office. A sharp wind blew through the glade and he felt it more than usual, causing him to hold her closer to his body and neither had any problems with the added closeness. He asked her if she would like to do anything as he held her right against him for her body heat, and she asked him if he was hungry, as his stomach had growled at the end of his sentence to kill the moment, and he said they could stay for a while longer and he'd get something later, even though he was truthfully very hungry. She could tell that he was only being polite and she invited him to go back to her apartment for something to eat, and she said he'd be in the heat and wouldn't be freezing her entire front off with his cold body. He glared at her jokingly before getting into the passenger seat and kissed her lightly before she turned the key in the ignition. When they arrived in Turquoise City, a pair of jealous eyes followed his partner as she walked up to the hotel in another man's jacket, with said man holding him close to her. Deryck bitterly thought to himself that it should be him escorting his friend, and he spitefully took a few pictures of them, in case a moment arose when they would become necessary for blackmail. Then, just to provide him with something that could blend itself into his job, he took a photograph of the pair of them kissing, and the zoom lens was sharp enough to be able to detect their tongues mingling. He smirked to himself as he realised that although Jessie mightn't be interested in him as a boyfriend, she would be interested in what James had gotten up to in his spare time.

      Jessie had been fearfully underneath her employer as he vented the anger he felt towards her fiancé out on her, and now that he seemed to have exhausted himself she summoned all of her strength to push him off her, and as she tried to pull up her underwear, he grabbed her ankle and increased his grip on it until she thought it was going to snap under her weight. She screamed for him to get off her before kicking him severely in his kneecap and made her escape, grabbing the envelope on the way out. She bolted through the still fairly crowded room until she slipped on a spilt drink and ruined the front of her dress as a result of it. To make matters worse, one of her straps split as she scrambled up again, and she heard a more than slightly familiar voice tauntingly calling out to her:

      "Falling again Jessie? Have you absolutely no sense of balance?"

      "Piss off Cassidy"

      "Hardly the words of a lady. But then again, we've always known you've been the tramp"

      "If you think I'm a tramp for staying loyal to one person except for when you were slipped something and **raped**, well then yes, I am a tramp. You want to go into my world? Go visit your employer; he'll greet you with more than just open arms"

      She strode out of the room and took particular care not to slip on anything else on the ground, and she heard the whispers that spread around her as she walked past them regarding what she had just said about Giovanni. The front of her dress was soaking and torn from the hard ground, and her ankle was burning with pain, and at this point she only wanted to go and find James to apologise for not standing up for herself more. After being violated by at least two men today {she wasn't sure what had happened in the mansion}, the only thing she wanted was for James to hold her and to tell her that he didn't hold her responsible. It was only when she attempted to fix her strap that she noticed that the ring James had given her a little more than twenty-four hours ago was no longer visible. She screamed out an obscenity and sat on the pavement, crying bitterly to herself as there was only one way to get it back, and if she returned she mightn't be able to leave again. She was bleeding profusely in her private area due to the extensive force that Giovanni had used on her earlier that night, and she prayed to herself that she wouldn't stain her dress. She jolted automatically when she felt a hand rest on her bare shoulder, and she saw that it was Mondo, who was looking rather alarmed at her surprise to see him for some reason. He looked different—not just because it was rare that she saw him in a tuxedo—his hair looked longer and it seemed that he might have grown a bit too. She hated to admit it, but he looked far more grown up than the last time they'd met at a gala like this one. He asked her if everything was all right and she choked out about her ring through her sobs, and he whispered that he'd get it back for her if she just stayed there and waited for him. She thanked him as he re-entered the building and he grimaced as he approached the room that they had been in for nearly three hours, deciding that her level of gratitude mightn't be worth crossing Giovanni when he was clearly already ill humoured. He knocked on the door and instead of fear he felt relief when he saw that it was unlocked which enabled him to search for the ring without any difficulty or interruption. He saw a glint from one of its stones in the far corner and he noticed that there were different quantities of blood on the ground; at the first section of it, it was thick and still clotting whilst the blood at the other end was far lighter and he could tell how it had originated. He picked up the ring and pocketed it as he left the tainted room, and he saw Cassidy behind him as he shut the door, and she seemed more than a little pale. She asked him if what Jessie had told her about Giovanni was true, and he told her to look at the eerie liquid on the floor in the room behind him if she needed proof, and Cassidy dropped her drink in shock. He pushed past her to make his way out to Jessie and she was twice as bad as when he'd left her as one of the drugs that was in the mixture in her drinks were kicking in now and her flashbacks were more horrendous than the original ordeal. He passed her the ring and helped her over to the car once she had it on her finger again since her legs seemed to have no function as she slipped deeper into her panic and depression. He took a towel out from a box under her seat and placed it on the seat before she sat down in case she bled on the expensive covering, and he made sure that she was securely locked in before heading towards the front cabin of the stretch limousine. Due to both the dark division and her self-loathing, she failed to notice that Mondo had been the one to drive her there in the first place. He might have felt guilty for making her think that he was sorry that she had been drugged, but that would have been hypocritical of him, since he had done the same thing to her earlier that day. The difference between the two types of drugs were that the one she had received a couple of hours beforehand would make her remember the events to be worse than their originals, whereas his would only allow her to relive her nightmare in her sleep. That way, she wouldn't be able to run to her stupid fiancé when she recalled the event, and it had just been too sweet for him to catch him with his arms all over another woman. He fixed the rear-view mirror to show her before starting the long journey back, as he needed some sort of entertainment for when he would be driving on the open roads, and instead of stopping for her to stretch her legs, he'd kill the light in the car and make her spread them…

      Since the bitingly cold atmosphere outside was now just a mere memory for them, James had easily warmed up quickly inside the apartment and he had even begun to cook a meal for them at a most peculiar hour in the morning. She had said that she loved his cooking and he offered to make enough for two when he was deciding what would be the easiest thing to make. He was grateful for something to eat given that it had been a few weeks since the last time he hadn't had much to eat and his body wasn't used to the strain anymore. She tried to stop him from washing the crockery up, but he wasn't going to let her think that he'd eat her food and make her clean up for him, and he told her to relax as he did it. The time was nearing five o' clock when he was finished, and he knew he'd need to get back home at some point before he became too drowsy to drive properly. He decided to say just that to his female companion, and so he went into her room to say goodbye to her. She had gotten changed for bed and was writing in something that looked like a diary when he entered her room, and his thoughts were confirmed when he saw 'I spent the whole evening kissing James!!!' written in heavy lettering at the top of the page. She noticed that he'd seen it and turned it upside down before he could see what followed that heading. He had no interest in reading it as he treated reading her diary as invading her privacy, and he sat next to her on the bed whilst kissing her properly. He eventually regained his self-control and started to tell her that he'd need to leave soon in case he fell asleep driving if he left at a later stage, but he cut himself off when he saw what her scarf had been hiding all night. He touched it lightly whilst he asked her if it was a boyfriend who had given it to her, even though he knew the answer before she verified it. She sat forward to ask him if he'd sleep there for a while before he drove, as it would make her feel less concerned for his safety whenever he did leave and he said he would, preparing to leave her room for the couch in the other room. She seemed more nervous than before when she caught his wrist and asked him if he'd stay with her, and he knew exactly what she meant by that. He ran his thumb over the back of her hand as he asked her if it was what she really wanted, and he noticed the tears in her eyes when she said that her body felt contaminated and that she wanted to remove some of that feeling by finding out what sex was like when she was a willing member of it. He knew in his heart that it was wrong to betray Jessie like this, but at that moment it seemed like it was an equaliser for her sleeping with Giovanni. He wiped the tears away from her eyes and asked her if she was absolutely certain that she wanted to do it, and she said that he'd better give her something worth writing about in her diary. He complied with her request to leave the light on and asked her at various stages if he was hurting her in any way, and after a couple of minutes he could see that the fear had completely vanished from her eyes. Just like he had tried his hardest to spoil Jessie and James' first time together, neither of them were aware that Deryck was outside the door to her room with a Dictaphone, recording every sound that was going on in the bedroom to hurt Jessie with the truth, not realising that she was being hurt in the car that was parked on a quiet section of the road by a silhouette for all she could see…

AN:

Okay, okay, so it's taken me ages to upload!! I think that the size of these chapters should make up for it though, and I was even generous enough to tell you whom one of the attackers was!! By the way, I'm talking about Mondo, not 'Deryck'. Deryck is a name I have invented for a character that has been in the series **once** before. This will be my final update before the climax of the plot, so all reviews are welcome more than ever before. Any last minute guesses for the identities of the assailants, or Meowth's fate? Team Rocket Sapphire—you are excluded from this since you already know who it is!!! And Miaka *sniggers*, I think this proves that James isn't a virgin so have I destroyed your perfect image of him again? Pity that an author has the right to manipulate characters like that, someone should stop us.****


	20. September 20th, 2000

                                                Wednesday, September 20th 2000                 

                                  *Warning, there's death in this final chapter*

      It took James a few moments to work out why he didn't recognise his surroundings and why the woman he was holding was different than usual, and then his conscience reminded him why he was there. He was now feeling that retaliating the way he had was a pathetic way to get payback, and he ran his hand along his partner's face a few times to wake her up. She smiled when she saw him and kissed him passionately before allowing him the chance to explain that he needed to go, and when he finally broke himself away from her, she sighed and sat forward to let him out of bed. His left arm was numb from her lying on top of it for the last few hours but he didn't mind it too much as it seemed to have brought her out of her depression that she had burdened when he had first been reunited with her. She traced the outline of his tattoo with her finger and asked him if Jessie had inspired him in his choice as it was the image of her in one of her black moods, and he laughed prior to replying that he had been drunk at the time. He also said (whilst stifling a yawn) that he hadn't seen it due to its location and he dragged himself out of bed as he felt his eyelids growing heavier. He was disappointed that he would be returning to a house that he hated, and to a woman that he was no longer keen on marrying as he had seen her attitude to other men the instant she was alone. He found the concept of wearing a tuxedo just to do some driving more than a little odd, and he was becoming more reluctant at leaving his ex-girlfriend behind. He sat beside her and asked her if she felt like breakfast before he left as he was desperate for an excuse to stay longer than he was supposed to, and she said that the only thing she wanted was him. He leaned forward to kiss her and grinned when her lips never met his—he was at the opposite end of the room with her diary in hand and colour drained from her face when she realised that he might see anything written down that would link her to the attacks, and she realised that he was writing something, not reading it. Her heart was caught in her throat as she inwardly panicked, knowing how easy it would be to accidentally see any of the headings to the dates, and she didn't know what he would do if he saw the entrant for six days ago as it went into the depth of her hatred of the damage Deryck had inflicted on Weezing. She felt relief when he returned with the book and told her not to worry—it was against his principles to read the private thoughts of another person, especially hers. He put the pen and book on top of her bedside locker and told her to read it when he was gone since he wanted her to have something other than memories for her to remember him by. There were tears in her eyes whilst he mournfully told her that he needed to drive back to his house, and nothing could stop them from falling when she heard the door close, as she knew that the next time they'd meet would be on completely different terms than this time. She switched the lamps off and dragged herself out of bed to put some clothes on before going near the diary, and she smiled broadly when she realised that she didn't feel remotely besmirched after what she had allowed another man to do to her the night before. She opened the book and saw that he had left a message regarding his thoughts of her as well as his address, in case she felt like visiting him over the next couple of days, but her contentment was not to last due to a knock interrupting her thoughts. It was (much to her dismay) her partner, and he contemptuously informed her that their employers had given them new instructions to initiate the final stage immediately, and her heart froze when she realised what it meant. She gathered her belongings and threw them into the car once they were on the deserted street opposite to the hotel, and she didn't even want to drive as a result of her depression. James would replace the feelings of love and warmth that had shown towards her the night before with a harsh and uncaring attitude when he found out about her job.

      James was shattered by the time he reached his house and he only paused to check when the house-maid's next shift would be, and he returned to his bedroom when he saw that it started in half an hour—except someone had locked the door and they had succeeded denying him access to his own room. He angrily descended the marble steps before he strode down the western corridor in search of the panel that would provide him with a secret passage to the room in question. He was trapped between anger and guilt when he saw Jessie asleep in his bed; she looked deathly pale and she had the sheets tucked up to her chin. He also noticed scratches on her face that made him worry about how she had gotten them, and if there were any other injuries on her body as he tore his gaze away from her. He shook the feelings of guilt away as he convinced himself that he could justify his sleeping with an ex-girlfriend whereas she could not do the same for her betrayal and with that, he began to take off his tuxedo at long last. Jessie could hear movement in the room and her eyes flew open after the nightmares that had plagued her all night, and she was grateful to see it was James who had his back to her, and she felt nauseous whilst she attempted to greet him. He either didn't hear her or was ignoring her, and she wasn't sure which it was so she tried to talk to him again, and it was only after a couple of minutes that she realised that she had fallen asleep without him beside her. She asked him what time he had gotten back at and he replied five minutes ago without turning around, and that he wasn't grateful for her locking the door. She couldn't understand where his sharp tone was coming from and she felt like she was going to throw up when she tried to move in the bed, and she felt pain between her legs, and it hit her that her nightmares had been memories and not fictitious. If there had been any blood left in her face, it had surely disappeared after her realisation, and she knew that someone had locked her in since she didn't even know where the bedroom keys were kept if she had wanted to do it. She sat up and wrapped her arms around her stomach as she doubled up from the ill feeling that haunted her, and she felt James sit beside her so that their faces were opposite each other and he was close enough to run his hand along her back. She noticed a strange emotion in his eyes; it was halfway between hurt and anger, and he asked her if she enjoyed the night before, and before she could reply, he whispered:

      "I hear Giovanni enjoyed you anyway"

      Her eyes filled with tears as he continued to tell her what situation he had caught her in and that he had seen it and that it wasn't a rumour he had heard. Tears streamed down her face and she begged for him to listen to her side of events, and her stomach chose that moment to empty the contents of her stomach, and she felt the feeling rise in her throat and it caused her to bolt to the bathroom to remove the feeling from her intestines. James wondered how he could resume their argument without seeming too insensitive, and when he couldn't find an answer to his question, he decided to follow her. Once her shaking appeared to be less erratic, he asked her if she was all right and she couldn't even summon enough energy to answer him from the dire feeling that had consumed her entire being. She collapsed backwards into his arms and cried bitterly as memories swarmed into her head from the past twenty four hours, and her greatest fear at that time would be if her fiancé would forgive her for not putting up enough of a fight for herself. A chilling sense of guilt replaced the fiery sense of anger that James had initially felt now that it was obvious to him that the situation was entirely different than what he had imagined to be. He could feel her scorching body temperature through the material of his t-shirt, and when he finally brought himself to look down at her body he saw the state that her dress was in, as well as the large worrying bloodstain around her waist. He picked her up and carried her back to bed as soon as it was apparent that she no longer felt nauseous, and she seemed to be weak and panic-stricken as she persisted to call out for an unknown attacker to leave her alone and to carry on driving, indicating that her chauffeur had mistreated her also. He told her to sit still for a few minutes whilst he unlocked the door to get a wet sponge to cool her forehead with, and his body surged with panic when he discovered it locked when he returned. He sped through the same route he had taken earlier on and crashed into something in the secret passage (that turned out to be a person), and the only disadvantage of the passage being concealed was that there could be no light in it as it would create a beam of light at the entrance points. James had always detested not being able to see anything, but his training as a thief paid of in this incident as he could sense where the stranger was. He didn't even move to hear what direction he was intending to flee in, and when he was certain of their location, he swung a fist outwards and felt it collide with the back of a skull. This boosted James' self-confidence levels and he hit out again but cursed when there was a pop as his fist connected with the hard wall. He heard snickering as he rubbed his injured knuckles and then something happened that he didn't expect—his opponent slumped at his feet, undoubtedly unconscious from the blow. James grabbed the unknown person and dragged him/her through the entrance he had just used to get a look at him in the light, and he gasped out of shock when he saw whom it was. He kicked the brown-haired male out of spite and he began to wonder why his parents would hire someone from the same employment as their son when they had made it clear to him how disreputable thievery was. It suddenly dawned on him that Mondo was the same person who had not only raped his fiancée, but had also injured Meowth, even after all of the close times they'd shared as friends, and that he had the potentiality of telling Jessie exactly what he had been doing to his ex-girlfriend outside. He backhanded him once more as he propped him up against the wall to prevent him from choking on any blood that might clot in his mouth, and with that James sped back towards Jessie to see if anything had happened to her in his absence. She was clutching a collection of books while she stood on the bed, and it was clear that she intended to use them as projectile weapons if anyone came near her. She was startled when James slid out of a part of the wall, and he explained that it was the escape route from his bedroom; even though she had just seen her fiancé emerge from it, she couldn't see where the exit was since the designer had flawlessly concealed it. There was a note of urgency in his voice as he told her to get dressed whilst he hurriedly began explaining that there was something that she needed to see, and she followed her instructions without questioning him.

      He explained that all he needed was confirmation from the maid that he had been the chauffeur, and other than that he was certain that it had been Mondo that had attacked her in the car. She uncomfortably asked him how he knew that she had slept with him, and he said that she had revealed it in her feverish talk after she had thrown up, and she felt relief when there wasn't a trace of disgust in his voice as he said it. She found it difficult to comprehend that Raymond had been the one who had taken advantage of her on more than one occasion, and felt sickened when she had initially believed it to be James in the darkened room a few days beforehand. They were contemplating what to do with him [in both moving him and exacting revenge] when a butler informed James about two young people awaiting his presence in the room, where they held meetings connected to the family business. They were awaiting his presence, and he told Jessie that she should check on Meowth whilst he dealt with the business situation. She said that she would before kissing him gently on his lips, both of them unaware that it would be the last they would share as a couple…

      She shifted uncomfortably in her chair as she waited for James to enter the room; where she had misgivings regarding her job in the past, there was absolutely no comparison to how she felt now. Her partner kept glancing at her from the corner of his eyes and it made her feel more awkward as it was evident that something was annoying him. Then the moment she had been dreading for so long finally came into action—James walked into the room and came face to face with the people he had hated for so long, and she waited for the abuse to start, but it never did. Instead he went over and kissed her on the cheek as he greeted them warmly (clearly not suspecting a thing) and she felt like she was going to suffocate from the tight feeling that was in her stomach.

      "You do business with my parents? Since when?"

      "For half a year give or take, and we haven't really done much for them lately. In fact, you could say we were expecting the lady of the house"

      "Sorry but I can't help you there. Mama's away visiting a relative and the only other lady is Jessie and she's upstairs"

      "So what are you then?"

      "Very funny, I don't think"

      "I hate to ask you to do this, but could you get Jessie please? I need to, er, tell her something"

      "Yeah no problems, but she's spoken for, alright?"

      "Drat!"

      As soon as James had left the room again, she angrily hissed at her partner to demand to know what he was doing, and he simply replied that he was following their orders. She was on the verge of tears and he had seemed to hate her for some reason all morning; she didn't want to obey their employers this time, since she didn't want a reputation as a Mareep that killed just because another person had told them to. She flinched at his glare and she told him that they still had time to leave before someone was hurt, and he coolly replied that he had no problems killing someone as it meant that it would be his life on the line if he didn't comply with commands. She was about to say something when the affianced couple entered the room, and she felt guilt run through her veins when Jessie hugged her. James seemed more nervous than pleased at their display of friendship as the truth about the night before could come out if an argument arose, and that was one thought that left him worried. He asked his guests if they wanted anything to drink to give him a few minutes alone to contemplate how to act when the only two women he had ever slept with were a few feet away from each other, and his pulse quickened when he heard footsteps behind him as he turned into the kitchen. He saw that it was his ex-girlfriend and he nervously asked her if he could get her anything whilst he glanced at the doorway to determine if they were visible to the other two, and he calmed down a bit when he saw that they weren't. He noticed how worried she looked and he held the side of her face whilst he gently brushed his lips against his and whispered:

      "I'm really sorry about this morning, but last night…"

      "I know, it was a mistake and it didn't mean anything to you so it won't happen again. I'm not going to mention it to your girlfriend if that's why you're bringing it up"

      "Actually I was intending saying that last night was spectacular and I was sorry when I left you this morning. Do you think that I'm the sort of person that could do something like that without it bearing any importance? I'm in a sticky position right now, but I still think you were worth the risk"

      "James, there's something you don't know about me"

      "I doubt it'll make me think any differently of you so don't worry. I love you for who you are"

      "I'm not sure if you'd still love me if you knew about it"

      "Don't fret about it. And I think we'd better get these drinks in before they start suspecting something. Why are you here with Deryck anyway?"

      "We are both directly employed by your parents, and we were told to be here"

      "Strange that"

      "What's strange?"

      Asked Jessie, upon hearing his last sentence as he returned to the large business room, and he explained that his parents hadn't left a message with him about the meeting that should have taken place with their old friends. He sat with Deryck opposite the women to cause an even number to be on each side of the elegant table, and when he leaned over to pick up a cap of a bottle that Deryck had knocked off the table, he regretted showing manners for the first time in his life. As soon as he had the cap in his sights, he felt a cold metal closing around his neck, and when he tried to ask what Deryck thought he was playing at, he felt a stream of high voltage burn his neck with ease. James automatically clasped his fingers around the death-ridden ring and he felt the pain of the electrified metal scorch his digits, and Deryck held a contraption that controlled the input of electricity that went into the eerie hoop in his right hand, and he had failed to notice that his partner had a gun pressed against Jessie's head with her bad hand, and a knife to her throat with her other to block her from saving James, and he didn't see the tears that were welling up in her already world-weary eyes. It pained her to see James struggling for oxygen and wished that she could help him, but it was taking all of her energy to refrain her wrist from shaking as the razor-sharp blade would more than likely cut Jessie's throat in the process. The stream of raw energy burned him whenever he tried to say something, and he felt the youth knock him to his knees (the process nearly choked him) and to add to the high level of pain that he suffered from, he felt Deryck stand on the calf of his right leg. He stopped himself from crying out since he knew that would result in more electricity being applied to him; he realised that whenever he spoke that the metal ring was activated, so it must be sensitive to the vibrations whenever he spoke. Jessie looked positively terror-stricken at the situation, and the fact that there were two deadly weapons pressed against her didn't help the situation. She felt her opponent's fear through the shaking blade, but if she was so afraid of the situation, why wouldn't she stop it, especially when she had considered them close friends? She suddenly snapped out of her daze from hearing Deryck inaudibly whispering something to James, but she couldn't work out what it was although she could tell that it infuriated her fiancé. He twisted his body around suddenly and caught Deryck off his guard, but due to the position he was initially in, he ended up flat on his back with Deryck on top of him. There was no mistaking the disgusting tone of Deryck's voice from the women's position, and they even received a disturbing visual to punctuate it:

      "Just like old times James"

      And with that, he pulled James' head forward and kissed him roughly on his lips; fortunately, James' response was one of pure disgust and he told him where to go even though it made his vocal chords nearly break with strain. Anger burned steadily in James' eyes as his opponent reminded him of a couple of the atrocious deeds he had partaken in a few years ago, and he hoped more than anything that the women were unable to hear him. His fingers were torn from the metal and the pain it inflicted on him made him scream out, and everyone heard a definite strain on his unnaturally hoarse voice, and it took all of his willpower to stop himself from passing out as Deryck forcefully pressed down on the burnt skin. Jessie noticed how distinctly distracted her attacker was and broke free from her grip with ease to try and save James from what looked like certain death, but Deryck's reflexes were sharper than hers and he had her in a body lock before she could even touch her lover. He snickered evilly as he saw his friend prop James forward so he wouldn't choke, and he slid his right hand over Jessie's stomach whilst whispering:

      "Make a cute couple, don't they?"

      "Get off me"

      "Now, now Jessie, no need to bite my arm, I'm felt more pain there than your teeth can ever imitate. And I'm aware how much THAT THING over there loves you; I saw him practicing for you last night"

      "What are you implying? He doesn't need any form of practice for me"

      "Really? So you don't know about his little enjoyment last night?"  
      "What the hell are you talking about?"

      All she received from him was another mocking laugh and a remark about James still being unable to tell the truth in his pathetic life, and if his throat weren't already dry from the electricity, James would have had the ability of speech removed anyway. Panic swept through his system as he realised that his 'revenge' the night before was about to be revealed, and he dreaded the thought of anything else about him being brought into the light. The hand that was supporting his neck forward without touching the metal band was now in a firm grip, as his ex-girlfriend was also dreading the revelations. Jessie squirmed as she felt her attacker rub against her body and he asked her if she wanted to know how James had been considerate enough to practice for her, to avoid her disappointment, and she shakily asked him what he meant, although she had a good idea about it when she saw the look of undoubted terror in her fiancé's eyes. Deryck loosened his grip on Jessie momentarily and she didn't move as he extracted a miniature folder containing photographs from his pocket, and told her to open it if she wanted to satisfy her curiosity. She nearly dropped the pictures from her hands as she pulled the cover back and tears sprang freely from her humiliated eyes when she saw James with his tongue in a mouth that was most certainly not her own. That slick voice was back again, and he was now whispering:

      "Hey Jessie? Do you want to know what they got up to when Giovanni was fucking your brains out? Or at least, one of the many times?"

      "Wh-what were they doing? Th-they d-didn't...th-they c-c-couldn't have…?"

      "Screwed like there was no tomorrow? Course they did. Here, let me show you"

      James was far paler than he had been in quite some time and he was becoming frantic about what he could do to turn back time before evidence could be produced, and he couldn't understand how they could be seen when they didn't have sex near a window. His question was answered when he saw a Dictaphone being produced from Deryck's jacket pocket and when he clicked the play button there was the unmistakable sounds that they had both made during the event. This was enough for Jessie and she screamed out:

      "Why the fuck did you do this to me? You stupid bitch Tyra, you always said I should have gone out with him, so why did you have to fuck him?"

      "Jessie, hear me out"

      But that was all that James could say as Deryck had chosen exactly that moment to increase the level of voltage that was surging through James' neck, and the youth was silenced whilst his fiancée screamed obscenities at the pair of guilty teenagers. Tyra noticed the pain the object of her desire was enduring and demanded that Deryck lower the stream immediately before they killed him.

      "Don't call me that Tyra, and I'll kill him if I want. You don't know half of what he's put me through over the years. He KILLED my girlfriend"

      "Quit playing around 'Chopper', he didn't kill anybody"

      "How the hell do you know? He dragged me into a world that you only recently found out about, and guess what? My girlfriend died when you were going out with him"

      "I…d-didn't…k-kkk"

      "Look, you can barely talk as it is, so do you mind not interrupting me? I don't mind electrocuting you, especially if you persist in lying to me"

      "I…"

      "Yes you did. Remember Carlotta? Yeah, you know the one. How could you forget what you did to her? She was hospitalised for months until she died from almost total blood poisoning"

      "Chopper, what the fuck are you talking about?"

      "Good question my dear Jessie. It seems that this lying piece of scum could manage to lie rather convincingly to you for quite a few years now, doesn't it?"

      "Deryck, don't do this. At least lower the stream so he can tell us his version of what happened"

      "What's the matter Tyra, don't you believe me? Do you think that he's not capable of GETTING AWAY WITH MURDER? Believe me, that's what he's done"

      "I-I-I d-d-didn't…"

      "Yes you did. You played around with her before sending her to HIM, and he filled her with his own vile blood that caused her premature death. She was PREGNANT with my child and you slaughtered her. Do you know what it was like spending a year of your life visiting your dying girlfriend that suffered a miscarriage? Or what it was like having to return to the perpetrator every night to make sure he didn't kill me either?"

      "Who in the fucking hell are you talking about Chopper?"  
      "It's du Paor, isn't it?"

      "Right in one Tyra, the same one I went to yesterday for those ingredients. You see, James not only killed my girlfriend, but he also made it so that I have to pay du Paor back for what was owed. I was lucky that I didn't have sexual favours on the repayment list, since that job was already taken. By THAT THING over there actually, Jessie"

      "No way"

      "Sorry Jessie, but your fiancé is a no-good murderous fag. If you've ever called him a suck-up, you now know it's true"

      "Shut up Deryck"

      "Defensive, aren't we Tyra?"

      "You love drugs, James didn't make you do ANYTHING"

      "He introduced it to me, but then again it runs in his in-bred family, hasn't it James?"

      "He wasn't there the day you raped me, you acted on your own free will there, and against mine. I'm not sure if you're aware of this, but I saved your life yesterday from his far from in-bred family"

      "W-w-w-w-what t-t-t-he h-h-hell d-d-d-o y-you m-m-m-m-mean?"

      The vibration that hindered the understanding of his speech was grotesque and it made Jessie feel marginally sorry for him out of the burning hatred for his betrayal. James' presence obviously irritated Chopper since his muscles had contracted when he had mentioned his late girlfriend, and the drugs kicked back into Jessie's system as she saw Giovanni throwing her onto the ground in front of her eyes. Her body heat soared sky-high and she felt far weaker at her knees than she had done since she had raced to the bathroom that morning, and she found herself resting against Chopper more than being forced against him. She felt him lick her burning cheek as he tried to infuriate her fiancé even more, but that was all she could remember from the world of the living as her flashbacks became more vivid and horrific. She fell back suddenly onto the ground from an unexpected release from the force of Chopper's body, and the coil of rope connecting the collar and control system was severed. James screamed in absolute terror as the collar absorbed all of the remaining electricity at once and then his vocal chords failed to make the strain. Tyra had shot Deryck in his foot at the same time that a small figure had lunged for the cord to save his best male friend. World-weary and a state to look at, Meowth had broken two of his claws in the process, and once the initial shock of his pain had disappeared, Chopper kicked Meowth savagely out of his path. He filled a syringe with his own blood and pressed it into James' arm, spitting out a savage remark as he pressed down on the top of it, enjoying the pain in James' expression as he accepted the foreign liquid into his weakened body. He squeezed James' leg before turning and hitting Tyra on her nose, calling it payback for when she had done that to him, but when he was ready to leave, Tyra made her move. She stabbed the knife fiercely into his right shoulder and held it there until he fell unconscious, and then she asked James if he was all right. He didn't answer her (though she wasn't entirely sure if he was able to talk) and he awkwardly crawled over to Jessie who was lying on the floor, completely still. 

      Her skin was like white-hot coals to touch, and she was covered in a heavy, sticky perspiration all over her body. Her breathing was shallow and she was gasping for some precious oxygen, and when he lifted up one of her eyelids, he saw that they were rolling back in her head and she couldn't see him. He mentally apologised as he propped her forward and unhooked her bra from behind, but he knew it was essential to avoid any constraints around her lungs that might be caused by tight clothing, and it felt unnatural to do something like that to her in case she died. He could vaguely recall a scream being emitted behind him, and his one mistake was to ignore it. He felt an unexpected blow to the back of his head and he fell forwards on top of Jessie, an action that might cause her premature death. He heard another gunshot and the unmistakable sound of a body slumping on the ground beside him echoed throughout his pounding head, and it was only when he regained his thoughts that he realised that his fiancée wasn't breathing. He was inwardly screaming and he might have mimicked the action with his voice if it wasn't for the fact that his larynx was burnt through. He propped her into the right position to allow air easier admittance into her clammy body before separating her lips to perform mouth-to-mouth on her, and he suffered from apprehension beyond what he would have thought possible; he choked when he tried to breathe for her, and he couldn't hold his head in the right position long enough without coughing from strain. He massaged the skin above her lungs to try and reactivate them, and it was only when he felt Tyra rest her hand on his shoulder that he realised that he wasn't alone. She said that she could breathe for Jessie if he'd let her, and he protectively held Jessie closer to him to keep her safe from one of the two people that had put her into that situation, and his glare informed Tyra of how toxic he considered her to be. She insisted to James (with great difficult as she had a broken nose) that he should allow her to help Jessie seeing that if he refused, there was a high probability that in a few minutes it would be too late. He reluctantly moved aside to allow Tyra to help his fiancée, and he realised the devastation around him; Meowth was in a pool of his own blood and he also had shallow breath; Deryck was unconscious with a knife still in his back, and there was Mondo beside him with a steel pipe in one hand and he had a bullet lodged in his chest. No doubt it was him that had hit James when he had caused Jessie to stop breathing, and Tyra had shot him to save him from death. Although it seemed against his nature, there was no way that he was going to thank her for saving his life, as it was she who had endangered it in the first place. It just didn't make sense to him: Why did nobody come to save them?

      By sheer coincidence, the housemaid that had been helping James with his enquiry about Mondo descended the stairs to assume her shift, and she had to support herself against the side of the large doorway in the business room when she saw the injured beings before her. James sensed a presence enter the room and when he saw who it was, he mimed to the young girl to call for help, except the only difficulty he had was getting her to snap out of her shock. He heard a triumphant cry from Tyra and he noticed that Jessie was breathing again, but it was still caught and strained, but she was breathing nevertheless. The housemaid returned hurriedly and said that she'd drive them to the nearest hospital to save them, and she asked James why he wouldn't reply to her, as if he was blaming her for the situation. He unsuccessfully tried to mime that he couldn't talk as he cradled Jessie in his arms to carry her outside, and more tears fell from his eyes from the agonising pain that was erupting from his leg. Tyra was moving Meowth very carefully in case his breathing became another problem for them, and the young member of staff asked James what she should do with the two other bodies. He reluctantly motioned to her that they should bring Deryck, owing to the fact that he needed to drag answers out of him at a later stage. He would have done the same to Raymond except that he was missing a pulse, so they left him on the expensive floor that was lined with blood from people that James had called friends, especially from his dear feline friend. The housemaid's driving skills were in a dire state of needing improvement, but they eventually got to a hospital without any further casualties. Meowth was sent to a different wing as he was a pokémon, and the teenagers that had been involved in the fight were each sent to different emergency rooms. Terror swept over Tyra as an all-too familiar wave of anaesthetic washed over her, even though her injury wasn't remotely as serious as her friends' were.

      Room 336t, 20:00hrs…

      James felt empty as he saw his girlfriend lying in the hospital bed, and he was glad to see that she had regulated her breathing once more. Her body assumed the appearance of a porcelain doll because she was so pale and looked frighteningly frail, and her temperature was far colder than it had been in months. His head was still swarming with questions about what had happened and he couldn't believe that three people he had placed his trust in had betrayed him by sabotaging his relationship with Jessie. He winced from the pain from his burnt fingers as he took her hand in his own, and then he kissed it with silent tears falling freely from his face; he would have begged for her to wake up, but the doctors had told him that his larynx had suffered such extensive damage that to speak unnecessarily would be to forsake the ability to talk. He was staying in the same room as she was anyway, so he needn't worry about not being near her if she ran into any more difficulties, and much to his disgust Tyra was also residing in the room, along with five other patients. Luckily for his scorching temper, Chopper was in a different room and James didn't want to leave the room to exact his revenge in case something happened to Jessie in his absence. He couldn't bring himself to thank the housemaid, Karen, as he would need to return to his own bed for visitors, and he was genuinely afraid to leave Tyra with an opportunity to kill his fiancée. He knew that the marginal revelation that had been made about his past would make Jessie want to know the extent of what it was, and he was frightened when he thought about how she would react, and his blood ran cold when he thought that he might have slept with his girlfriend's assassin. It was true that he hadn't killed Carlotta, and it was only a few hours beforehand that he learned that she had been pregnant at the time, and he had certainly not known that she had died. He had deliberately fooled around with her to buy him some time from du Paor, and he regretted ever presenting her to him for some money. That had been how he had survived when Jessie wasn't around—make a few women think he was going to sleep with them and get them drugged/drunk enough so they didn't know what was going on, and then he had given them to other people like they were mere scraps of meat. Chopper hadn't been lying earlier when he had said that the position of sexual favours had been filled; whenever he had failed in a task or not sold enough tablets to other people, he had been forced to act like a whore to save his pathetic life. On a really bad trip, he had been convinced to act like Chopper was his spouse for du Paor's enjoyment, which was exactly what he had meant after he had been kissed by him earlier, and James now realised that this information was where Chopper had been given inspiration to make Tyra spread the rumour about his sexuality after they had split up. He was so wrapped up in his own thoughts that he didn't see the nurse enter the room until she was just about to put her hand on his shoulder, and she jumped when he quickly turned around to face her. She asked him if there had been any changes in her condition, and he shook his head dejectedly, whilst futilely trying to cease the tears from falling in front of a stranger. He started miming something that she couldn't comprehend and it was useless when she handed him a pen and paper as his fingers were burnt too badly to write legibly. She scrutinised the result of his scrawls and recognised the word 'Meowth' in it, so she assumed that he was asking her on his pet's condition. She apologetically informed him that the cat had died from extensive internal injuries and that due to his age, his system wasn't fit enough to attempt a recovery, whereas he may have stood a chance in his youth. She left the youth alone and he couldn't stop the hot angry tears that slid down his face at the mention of another of the pokémon he was close to had lost their lives, and he wondered if there'd be a next.

      She saw James looking upset from the opposite end of the room and decided against going near him after how she had been one of the people he had desired to get even with for quite some time. She was becoming fed up of listening to the radio that was being broadcast by a couple of kids that would never be well enough to leave the hospital, and so she crept out of the room and visited her partner to get answers out of him that James would be unable to provide due to his current disability. He looked half asleep and she delivered a painful slap to his face to wake him up completely, and she didn't care that he had once been her closest friend. She demanded for him to tell her what he had been implying about James earlier, and she was relieved to see that he showed some guilt for his actions. It took another smack to prompt him into talking, and when she heard what he had to say, she wasn't entirely sure if she should believe him, or if he were merely being malicious.

      "After Jessie had left the gang to go off to be a nurse, James and I hung around more than usual, and after a while I noticed that he was considerably happier than when she had first left. I asked him if he'd found a new woman but he wouldn't tell me what it was. One night, I followed him back to the alley he roughed it in and I saw him talking to an older guy, du Paor. He was handed a small packet and it sounded like he was receiving specific instructions for something, and then instead of going to sleep like I thought he would, he snorted it and went off to meet a woman. Do you want to know who she was?"

      "I wasn't with him at the time"

      "It wasn't you. It was someone far closer to his heart than what should have been allowed"

      "Who?"

      "It was a blood relative—I think her name was Sasha or something similar—but the point is she was his aunt"

      "Bullshit"

      "Ask him. They went around together for a couple of hours every night; sometimes he'd be alone and bring a woman back with him, and sometimes they were pushing what they were given. It went like this until he brought back a Gym Leader, and instead of presenting her, he fell in love and he moved away from the area without saying anything to the other guy. In his absence I approached him for easy drugs and women, and I was hooked. I fell in love with Carlotta and she ended up pregnant after a couple of times, so I sent her away to the other side of the city for her own safety. Didn't do me much good though, when he came back in trouble for his absence and Carlotta decided to cheat on me with the wrong person. After that, I hated the bastard and needed to let him know it"

      "What did you do to him?"

      "Nothing, in a way. I worked to become more reliable than he was, and he did something inhumane after testing one of the batches. Each dealer tested a fraction of the goods to see what its sell value should be, and when James went on a **really **bad trip from a tester, he seemed to think I was the Gym Leader and du Paor made me act as if I was, just to amuse him. He knew his trip had been bad afterwards and he was told what he had done to me. The inhumane act he did was give all the bad batch to a group of kids, younger than we were, and they ended up playing around on a subway line. No harm came to them, but that was only because there had been a crash farther down the line, so all of the trains were delayed by a few hours. He realised what he had done, and when he was told to feed some cocaine to some eight year olds a few months later, he blatantly refused to do it. Nobody ever defies du Paor and gets away with it, and he was no exception. He wouldn't have been hurt so badly if he hadn't left with the Gym Leader, but he was. I've never seen anyone beaten up like that and lived bar him"

      "What happened to him?"

      "He was beaten up by five different guys at the same time, and one of them pulled a knife across his body. You probably saw the scar last night"

      "No, where was it?"

      "From his shoulder to his hip. Maybe it's too faint to see it anymore, but it was sickening to look at in the alley. He fell unconscious and they left him for dead, but his aunt saw him and brought him back to her house to take care for him. As far as I know, he never took anything again until we drugged him in the pub"

      "And you were innocent in this?"

      "I---I was one of the ones that attacked him, as I'd recently learned that Carlotta had lost the baby. It was my way of venting my revenge. In a way he was lucky that he was thrown out of the gang, as he was telling me that he found you attractive. I'm not sure if he would have run off with you as he did with the Gym Leader, but it's better that he didn't in case he treated you as he did the other women"

      "No way, he wouldn't have"

      "Don't be so certain. You now know what he can be like, so don't entrust him with too much in the future. How's the nose?"

      "Fractured. I was lucky you didn't break it"

      "I'm so sorry Tyra, can you please forgive me?"

      "You raped me and hit me, how am I meant to overlook that?"

      "I'm fucked up, okay. I'm going to go into rehab when I get out of here, so will you please give us another chance?"

      "No"

      "Please, I'm begging you"

      "No. I wish I hadn't saved your pathetic life yesterday"

      "Screw you bitch" 

      "You already have, remember?"  
      She stood up and left the room before she could allow her eyes to betray her by allowing them to shed tears in his presence. James was lying back on his bed with red eyes from all of the silent crying he had done, and upon seeing that Jessie was still out cold, she sat beside him. Her wrist stung with pain as she stretched out to touch his face, and she broke down when she saw him flinch; he didn't even face her as he did so. She pleaded with him to talk to her about what had happened, and he sat up unexpectedly to meet her gaze at eye-level, and the glare in his eyes made it clear to her that he couldn't talk, or at least not politely. He pulled the bandages back from his neck and she could see the burnt skin from where the hoop had been, and then he showed her his shaking fingers, wincing in pain as he removed the material momentarily. He pointed meaningfully at her bed and that one motion hurt more than finding out about what he had supposedly wanted to do to her. His eyes followed her until she passed Jessie, and he awkwardly leapt out of bed when he saw a muscle in her cheek twitch, and he held her hand again to see if she was waking up, and his heart soared when he saw her frown slightly. When she opened her eyes, she seemed caught for remembrance of what had happened, and instead of being happy to see James, she sat forward sharply and forced him away from her. Since his leg was weaker than usual, he fell onto the ground completely and silently screamed at the pain that shot through his injured fingers. Jessie had doubled up from the nausea that spread through her frail system from the anaesthetic, and she screamed at him to leave her alone. A nurse ran into the room to see what was disturbing the ward and Jessie told her that the man on the ground was harassing her, and that she didn't want him in the same room. James's heart plummeted at hearing this, and when the nurse had roughly aided him to his feet, he motioned that he'd leave without any trouble. He was relocated to the same room as Chopper (which infuriated him beyond belief), but he lay down in his new bed without making another disturbance seeing that he didn't want to exert too much force on his leg. The partition was drawn around him and he decided that he might as well try since his eyes were stinging at an unbearable level from crying over Jessie and his past, and he slipped into a haunted sleep.

      Room 354t, 23:57hours…

      His eyes flew open as he could have sworn that he heard a strange sound, and after straining his ears for a few minutes, he decided that it must have only been the radio, which was presently playing _Ha Ha You're Dead_ by Green Day. He heard a muffled cry from the far end of the room and he distinctly deciphered a cry to be Chopper saying:

      "No, not you"

      "It seems that your pathetic life wasn't worth saving after all, you filthy little wretch"

      "N-n-no wait, I-I-I-I can explain"

      "She's alive"

      "But they're not together, I made sure of it"

      "You messed my house up with blood. DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH THAT CARPET COST?"

      "Calm down treasure, you'll wake everyone up"

      "Oh, how inconsiderate of me. Goodnight Deryck"

      James broke out in a cold sweat whilst watching in panic from a split in the curtains as he saw his own mother shooting a person that he himself had a desire to kill. In the unnatural silence that followed, the lines of the song were: _You were an asshole, and now you're gone_. There was no sound from the cold gun that glistened in the pale light, and he just couldn't figure out why his mother had wanted Jessie dead—was it because she hadn't met her standards as a girlfriend? He saw his father checking the room to see if anyone had seen the murder, and apart from James, everyone else was asleep. Or dead. His parents left as silently as they had entered, and James began to fret about Jessie's safety, although he knew that if he would leave at that time he would be strapped into bed and fed a sedative. When he woke up again after a fretful sleep, James found out that Jessie had checked herself out in her ill state and he knew deep within his heart that he wasn't going to see her anytime soon, if indeed ever again.

AN:

Months later, we finally have the end of _A Diary Of Two Hearts_ and I'd like to thank anybody who managed to last until the end of chapter twenty. I lost most of my readers after Weezing's death, but that was required for a bit of added macabre tension. I'd particularly like to thank a few people who assisted me along the way, and gave me supportive reviews here and there: Lindsey, Lisa, Megami, Mike, Oonagh and Shari. I really couldn't have done it without you guys!! There's an idea floating around in my head for a sequel, so it might be a little time until I get to typing it up, and I'm not sure if anyone would be interested in one anyway after what I've done to the characters in this. The basic idea I had was to show what could happen to a relationship if there were various strains on it, and to see how well people cope when they are faced with death. I can link myself mostly with Tyra, for the only reason that I spent last year fighting against Depression, and it led to attempted suicide. Fortunately for me though, rape wasn't a factor adding to it. Thank you for reading! ^_~


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